A Very Merry Vacation
by kp83
Summary: Santana and Brittany go on vacation for Christmas. Sequel to Santana's Elf.
1. Chapter 1

**A Very Merry Vacation**

 **Chapter 1**

It was early when Brittany's cell phone rang, and it wasn't just early, it was _really_ _early_. Like three o'clock in the morning early.

The sound of the ringer was so sudden and jarring that it made Brittany and Santana both jump.

"Is that the phone?" Santana mumbled in a sleepy haze. She wasn't sure if it was.

It took a moment for Brittany to comprehend what she asked. "Yes." She answered. She wasn't sure who could be calling her so early, but she was considering ignoring it.

"Who is it?" Santana asked reaching to turn on the lamp on her side of the bed.

Bleary-eyed, Brittany reached for her phone on the nightstand. "It's my mom."

"Answer it. Maybe something's wrong." Santana said and suddenly she felt very awake.

Brittany slid her thumb across the screen, answering and clicking the speaker so Santana could hear as well. "Hey Mom."

" _Brittany!"_ Whitney said loudly into the phone and both Brittany and Santana winced from the volume.

"Is everything okay? Is dad okay? Did something happen?" Brittany asked urgently, sitting up.

" _Of course your father is fine. I just called to tell you some good news while I made breakfast. Why would you think something was wrong?"_

Brittany and Santana sighed in relief at hearing that and they both flopped down onto their pillows.

"Because you called me at _three in the morning_ and scared the crap out of me and Santana. We thought someone was hurt." Brittany said with some annoyance in her voice.

" _Oh!"_ Whitney yelped. _"I'm sorry. I forgot about the time change!"_

Time was tricky in the North Pole, because all the lines of longitude converged there, meaning that all twenty-four time zones met there. It could literally be any time in the North Pole, and considering that there was only one sunrise and one sunset per year as well, with six months of daylight, and six months of darkness, it didn't matter what time it was. But to make things easier when dealing with the rest of the world, Santa decided to adopt the time zone from the zero degree longitudinal line, The Prime Meridian.

It was eight o'clock in the morning in the North Pole, which was five hours _ahead_ of where Santana and Brittany were in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.

"It's fine, we're just glad nothing bad happened." Brittany said. "So what did you want to tell me?"

" _It's not that important. Go back to sleep. I'll call you later when I go on my lunch break."_ Whitney said.

"No, it's okay. What's up?" Brittany said. She figured since they were already awake, her mother might as well tell her why she called.

" _Well, it's just the best news ever!"_ Whitney chirped. _"Santa said that you and Santana can come up to the North Pole to visit your father and me for Christmas! Isn't that great?"_

Santana and Brittany both looked at each other surprised. Santa was very particular about the security of the village. In the one hundred years that Brittany had been alive, she had never heard of humans visiting before.

"Really?" Brittany asked perking up.

" _Really, really!"_ Whitney cheered.

"That's awesome! What brought this about?"

" _Well, I was having a visit with Mrs. Claus a couple of days ago, the first time since your wedding. You know how busy it is with the fall production push…anyways she asked about you and Santana. We chatted about you two for a bit, and somewhere in the conversation, I mentioned that your father and I were a little bummed that we didn't get to see you guys as often as we'd like to, but that we were glad that you were together and happy. I didn't think much about what I had said, but apparently, Joy told Santa about our conversation. Santa agreed that we had a unique situation and that it was unfair that Santana's family was able to spend so much time with you and we couldn't, so he agreed that you two could start making visits here as long as we follow some security protocols."_

"That's great!" Santana said.

" _Oh, hi Santana!"_ Whitney said hearing Santana's voice for the first time. _"I didn't know you were listening in."_

"Yeah." Santana chuckled. "Brittany has you on speaker."

" _So what day should we arrange to pick you up?"_ Whitney asked. _"Santa said he would prefer if we used a sled to get you instead of you using your magic. He didn't know how the hop would affect Santana for the first time. He thought it could make her sick and he didn't want her to make a trip to the hospital wing."_

"Umm, I don't know." Brittany said frowning. "I want to come up, but we already have plans to spend the holiday here with Santana's family. I'd feel bad canceling on them."

" _Oh, Britt."_ Whitney pouted; the disappointment in her voice was evident.

"I'm sure it will be fine if we change our plans." Santana said.

"Are you sure? I don't want to make them mad." Brittany said. As much as she would love to go home for Christmas, she and Santana had only been married a few months and the last thing she wanted to do was to upset her new in-laws.

"Babe, it'll be fine." Santana assured. "They might be a little disappointed that we aren't there, but they'll understand. We spent last Christmas and every holiday since you moved here with them, so I think it's your parents' turn."

"Well if you're sure, then I'm fine with canceling on them." Brittany said.

"I'm sure." Santana said with a warm smile.

Brittany smiled widely. "Then I guess we're going to the North Pole for Christmas."

Whitney squealed excitedly. _"Yes! So what day can you come up?"_

"We're both off from the eighteenth through New Year's Day." Santana said.

" _Perfect."_ Whitney said. " _Since your father and I are not licensed to fly a sled, we'll set it up with the stables to pick you up. It'll have to be late at night though, so there is less of a chance that you will be seen. Santa's orders."_

"Just let us know what time, and we'll be ready." Brittany said.

Whitney squealed again. _"I'm so excited to have my girls home for Christmas!"_

Santana's heart fluttered in her chest to hear Whitney say "my girls." She was so happy that Brittany's parents loved her. When she met them for the first time, she was afraid that they would hate her because she was the reason that Brittany left the North Pole and wanted to become human. Thankfully, despite how stressful that first trip had been trying to hide the fact that Whitney and Pierce were Christmas elves, they got along very well. It was still stressful for Brittany and Santana to hide their true identities when they visited Lima, but Whitney and Pierce were getting better at blending in, in the human world. They still had slip ups. Their way of life wasn't easy to suppress, but they were making progress.

"I'm excited too." Santana chirped. "Brittany has told me so much about it, I feel like I've already been there."

"It's even better in person, I promise. You'll see." Brittany cooed and leaned over giving Santana a peck on the lips.

"I can't wait." Santana said.

" _I can't wait either. Your father is going to flip when he finds out."_ Whitney said with a chuckle.

Brittany playfully rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he will. Make sure he doesn't get in trouble again. You remember what happened the last time he got overly excited."

" _Brittany, be nice. It wasn't that bad. He only knocked over one pallet of toys while he was dancing."_

"An extra-large pallet of unpackaged toy cars! They went everywhere. The toyshop was a hazard area until they were all picked up. They wouldn't let him visit me in the shop for months after that."

" _Your father is a passionate man. Sometimes he lets his excitement get the better of him, but he means well. And he misses you as much as I do. You can't blame him for getting excited."_

"I know. I miss you guys too." Brittany said. She absolutely loved her new life in Ohio with Santana, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't feel a little homesick for the North Pole at times. It was her home for ninety-eight years after all.

" _Well, I better let you two go."_ Whitney said. _"You need to go back to sleep and I need to get ready for work. Those gifts aren't going to wrap and inventory themselves."_

"Okay, Mom. Love you." Brittany said.

"Bye, love you." Santana said.

" _Love you both! See you in a week!"_

When they hung up with Whitney, Brittany put her phone on the nightstand and rolled over to look at Santana.

"I can't wait to see where you grew up Britt. It's like every human kid's dream to visit the North Pole."

Brittany chuckled. "You're going to love it there."

"I'm sure."

"Are you sure your parents are going to be okay with us canceling on them?" Brittany asked again, just to be sure.

"Yes, Britt. It will be fine. I'll call Mom later today and let her know. Don't worry about it."

"Okay." Brittany said with a smile and leaned in giving Santana a soft lingering kiss on her lips. When they parted, Brittany kissed Santana on the tip of her nose. "I guess we need to go shopping."

"For what?"

Brittany giggled because Santana had no idea. "You're going to need warmer winter clothes, unless you think your current wardrobe can handle minus fifty-eight degree weather."

Santana's face fell. She looked scared. "Minus f-fifty-eight?" She knew it was cold in the North Pole, but not that cold. She had not even considered the possibility of a temperature difference. It was cold in Lima, and they currently had snow on the ground, but it was nowhere near as cold as minus fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest it would ever get there was maybe negative fifteen degrees, but that was rare. Usually the temperature stayed in the positive numbers.

"Minimum. It's the North Pole, and it's dark all the time during the winter, so there won't be any sun to help add any warmth." Brittany said matter-of-factly. She had her North Pole elf wardrobe hidden away in a locked trunk in the back of her and Santana's closet, so she was set for the trip, but Santana would need more appropriate clothing for the environment.

"I'm going to freeze my ass off the whole time." Santana mumbled.

Brittany chuckled again and scooted a little closer to Santana, wrapping an arm around her and tangling their legs together. "Don't worry, I'll keep you warm." She cooed.

Santana smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "You better."

"I will. I can never pass up a chance to cuddle with you."

Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany. Long and slow. When they parted, Santana yawned and said, "Can you get the light, I don't want to move."

"Sure, honey." Brittany said and snapped her fingers, using her magic to turn the light off.

"That is still cool." Santana said. She was so happy that Brittany had retained her magic after becoming human. Even after almost two years of knowing about Christmas magic, it still had not gotten old for her. It impressed her every time.

"Just wait until we get the North Pole. Everyone can do that."

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : Hey all, here is the Christmas story I have been promising. I know this chapter is shorter than you are used to from me, but more is coming! I initially planned to do a one-shot, but as always seems to be the case; it ran away from me and has evolved and grown into a multi-chapter fic. Apparently, I can't write small, haha! Unfortunately, this has been such a busy month, so I won't have it finished before Christmas, but the first three chapters are ready and I'm writing as fast as I can. Basically, any free time that I have is going into this fic. I hope you like it!

Thank you for reading and if you have time, please let me know what you think!

Thanks to my beta **naynay1963** for proofreading and fixing my silly errors!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was a little after two o'clock in the morning on December 18th and Santana and Brittany were in their living room, anxiously waiting for their sled to arrive. Whitney called a few days prior to say that the sled would be there at two o'clock. They were both so excited; they could hardly sit still. Brittany kept peeking out the window, even though she knew it was unlikely that she would see the sled until it was parked in front of their house.

"What time is it?" Santana asked. She had been 'straightening up' the already clean and organized living room, trying to keep herself busy.

Brittany looked at her watch and frowned. "Two-fifteen." She said. It felt like a lot later. She couldn't believe the sled hadn't arrived yet.

"Ugh, time is moving so sloooooow!" Santana whined.

"Tell me about it." Brittany grumbled. "If we could have used my magic, we would've been there fourteen minutes ago…but I guess Santa is right. It might be too fast for you to handle, and I'd hate for you to get a severe case of motion sickness."

"Do you think I'll have any issues with the sled? You said it was going to take only ten or fifteen minutes. That's still really fast."

Brittany shook her head. "No, you should be fine. The sled is a lot smoother. It'll be just like flying in an airplane. You won't even realize how fast you're moving."

"Okay." Santana said. If Brittany wasn't worried, she wouldn't be either.

Another ten minutes passed and Brittany looked out the window again. She sighed when there was no sign of the sled.

"Maybe they got the time change confused, like your mom." Santana offered.

"I doubt it. The stable elves are better with time outside of the North Pole. They are constantly importing and exporting goods back and forth between the North Pole and the rest of the world."

"There's an import and export trade in the North Pole?" Santana asked surprised that that was even a thing. Brittany nodded. "You've told me so much about the North Pole, how have we not talked about this before?"

"I don't know." Brittany shrugged. "I guess I never really thought to bring it up. We import a lot of our food since it's hard to grow things in ice and snow, but we also export a lot of things that are made in the North Pole and sent to Santa's factories and businesses so they can be sold in the human world."

"Like what?"

"A lot of stuff actually…ornaments, bells, candy canes, wrapping paper, and a lot more. It's all small to medium sized, privately owned businesses, nothing too big that would draw a lot of attention, but you'd be surprised how many different businesses that Santa actually owns. It's how he funds everything in the North Pole."

Santana just blinked as she processed that information. "The more I learn about the North Pole and how intricate it is, the more incredible it is that it has managed to operate without being found out."

"It's the world's best kept secret that everyone knows about. Everyone knows Santa's village is in the North Pole, but most people think it's just a silly made up story, and for those that go to the North Pole, they're none the wiser because they haven't been able to outsmart Santa's decoys."

"I can't believe that I'm even being allowed to go." Santana marveled.

"You're my family now, which makes you Santa's family, and he knows how good of a person you are. He knows that you'd never betray his trust or put the village in danger. If he thought that for even a moment, he would have never turned me human to be with you."

Santana's heart swelled in her chest to hear that. She didn't know what she had done to have that kind of trust, but she was bound and determined to keep it.

Another eight minutes went by, and just as Santana thought that she and Brittany's patience had reached its limit, there was a knock on the door.

"Oh thank god." Brittany said and went over to the door, answering it right away. "Mike!" She cheered when she saw one of her best friends at the door and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Hey, Brittany." Mike said with a chuckle and returned her embrace.

"Mom didn't tell me that you were coming to get us!"

"It was a last minute change. When I overheard Puck saying that he was scheduled to pick you up, I convinced him into swapping trips with me. That's why it took me so long to get here."

"It's fine, I'm glad it was you that came to get us." She said pulling back from the embrace and motioned toward Santana. "This is my wife, Santana." She said with a smile. She still felt a tingle when she said the word 'wife'. "San, this is my friend, Mike."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Santana said shaking Mike's hand.

She had heard a lot about Mike from Brittany. They had been friends since they were kids. He had been on their wedding guest list, but when it seemed as if it would be too hard to keep the identities of over seventy elves a secret, they decided to scale back their wedding and opted to do a small destination wedding in Costa Rica with just a few close family members. In the end, Santana and Brittany were so happy that they didn't have a big wedding. A more intimate ceremony and reception was more their style anyways. It gave them more time to focus on each other and their few guests, instead of spending most of their wedding trying to mingle with everyone.

"It's nice to finally meet you too. Brittany told me a lot about you as well. For a while, I was beginning to think that she didn't know how to talk about anything else." Mike said with a chuckle.

Santana's cheeks heated up. "I hope it was all good."

"Of course it was." Brittany said wrapping her arm around Santana's waist.

"It was." Mike confirmed with a warm smile. "So shall we go?"

"Yeah, we're all ready." Brittany said pointing to her elf trunk and Santana's two suitcases stuffed with new artic clothing.

"I'll load your trunk." Mike said reaching down for Brittany's trunk and easily carrying it to the sled.

"Why doesn't he just use his magic to load it?" Santana asked as she slipped her arms into her parka. She thought it would be quicker if he just snapped his fingers.

Brittany had told her once that there was a limit to what Christmas magic could do. She couldn't move just anything with her magic, but Santana knew that their luggage wasn't too heavy, because she had seen Brittany lift the couch before, which was definitely heavier.

"We don't do everything with magic." Brittany said putting on her own coat. "Besides, someone could look out their window or drive by and see the bags levitating. The invisibility charm on the sled won't work while we're loading, so it's already going to look weird with a sled and reindeer if we're seen. It's better to not take the chance."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry. I didn't think about that."

"It's okay." Brittany smiled and leaned in giving Santana a soft kiss on her lips before she zipped up Santana's parka, put on her beanie-styled hat to cover her ears, and pulled her hood up over her head. "Soon enough, you won't have to worry about things like that. Are you ready?"

Santana nodded enthusiastically. "I've been ready for this trip since I was four!"

Brittany giggled. "Then come on." She said grabbing the handles of both suitcases.

They turned off all the lights and locked the front door before walking over to the sled. Santana just stared in awe at the beautiful red sled and the two reindeer that were going to be pulling it. As a kid, she had always been interested in Santa's reindeer. She wanted to pet them, but she knew that they really shouldn't waste any more time out in the open like this. The longer they were there, the bigger the chance they would be seen. She hoped that she could spend some time with them when they arrived at the North Pole. They got into the back of the sled and pulled the thick blanket that was there over their laps as Mike loaded the bags onto to the top of the trunk and tied them down. Once he was finished, he stepped in, sitting in the front seat.

"Are you ladies ready?" He asked looking over his shoulder.

"Yep." Brittany said with a wide smile.

"Alright." He said returning the smile and turned his attention forward. He lightly flicked the reins and within seconds, they were moving forward.

Santana let out an excited squeal as they lifted off the ground. "Britt! We're flying!" She said tightening her hold on Brittany's hand. "We're really flying, in a sled, _with reindeer_!"

Brittany and Mike just chuckled at Santana's excitement. It was refreshing to see someone so genuinely excited about something that was so ordinary to them.

The whole way to the North Pole, Santana and Brittany looked down at the world below them. Brittany was right; it was like an airplane. They were moving quickly, but things weren't moving in a blur, and the invisibility charm created a barrier that kept the wind to a minimum so it wasn't uncomfortable. They arrived at the North Pole twelve minutes after departure, and Santana was sad that their flight was over. She would have loved for it to last a little longer.

When they landed, instead of returning to the stables, Mike drove them through the streets of the village that was already bustling to Whitney and Pierce's house. Santana sat transfixed, absorbing everything around her with eyes as wide as saucers as Brittany pointed things out to her.

"I know this is going to sound stupid, but I just noticed how everyone is dressed. I kind of expected everyone to be wearing candy cane striped stockings, green tunics, and pointy red shoes with little gold bells on the end of them, but I can clearly see that that is not the case." Santana said with a little laugh. The elves that were bustling around them were dressed in clothing similar to what she was wearing, although the color schemes of their attire would definitely be classified as Christmassy, and most of them were wearing the stocking caps that she had been expecting them to be wearing.

"Are you being stereotypical?" Brittany asked, but the tone in her voice said that she took no offense to what Santana had said.

"Probably." She said. She had asked Brittany a lot of questions about her life in the North Pole, but this was one thing she had never really thought to ask before. "Most images we humans have of Christmas elves have them dressed like that or in something similar. In movies, books, at the mall with Santa. I mean, even you were dressed that way when I got you as a toy. I honestly thought that that is what you guys wore here. It's a stereotype that seems to be perpetuated even by Santa."

Brittany nodded. "That's true, but I think that Santa likes it that way. It's a fun and festive idea, but it also keeps the mystery of what life in the North Pole is really like."

"Yeah, I guess so. Does Santa really wear a big red suit when he's delivering toys?"

"No." Brittany said and Santana's face fell.

"That's fake too?!" She cried disappointed.

"I'm just kidding." Brittany said. "He does wear the suit. He loves that thing."

Santana was relieved that that part of her childhood was not ruined. "You just like to tease me don't you?"

"Sometimes." Britany giggled.

"You better be glad I love you."

"I love you too."

By the time they arrived at the house, Santana was sure that the North Pole was the most amazing place she had ever been, and she had only been there five minutes.

They had hardly stepped out of the sled before Whitney and Pierce rushed out of their house, both talking elatedly at the same time.

Santana tried to follow what they were saying, but they were talking so quickly that she couldn't keep up. Brittany, who was more then used to her parents' excitement just giggled and said, "Whoa, slow down! One at a time."

"We're just so excited that you're really here!" Whitney cheered pulling her daughter into a tight and enthusiastic hug.

"And who is this?" Pierce asked pointing to Santana.

Santana scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She knew Brittany's dad could be forgetful at times, but his question seemed genuine, and she wondered if he really did not know who she was. Thankfully, before anyone could respond, Pierce giggled.

"I'm just kidding. It's nice to see you Santana." He laughed, holding his arms open.

Santana just laughed and accepted his hug. "Good one, sir."

"Pierce, you leave that poor girl alone!" Whitney playfully admonished as she released her hold on Brittany. "She's probably overwhelmed and chilled to the bone. She doesn't have any time for your silly jokes."

"Actually, I'm not that cold." Santana said. Brittany had made sure the clothes that she had bought in the past week were appropriate and rated for the North Pole. And to be honest, she had been so distracted by everything else going on around her since they left Lima; she had not even noticed the temperature change.

"That's good sweetie." Whitney said and gave Santana a bouncy hug, as Brittany hugged her father.

"Where do you want the bags?" Mike asked.

"Oh, the bags!" Whitney yelped. "Pierce, go help."

"Help what?"

" _Help Michael with the bags_." Whiney said rolling her eyes. "Here, I'll help you, help him."

Brittany just smiled and shook her head as she watched her parents 'help' Mike. It might have been more of a help to him if they would have left him alone to do it himself, but he was too polite to decline their effort. She was happy to see that nothing with them had changed.

Once everyone was distracted with the luggage, Santana moved closer to Brittany and whispered, "Can I pet the reindeer?"

Brittany turned to look at her and she nodded. "Sure." She said taking Santana's gloved hand into her own.

They walked up to the front of the deer and Brittany went right up to them, scratching them both under their chins, while Santana stayed back a bit, watching. She was obviously very keen to touch them, but didn't know how to be around reindeer and she didn't want to do something that might startle them.

"They're very friendly. Come on." Brittany said looking over her shoulder at Santana.

Santana slowly made her way to stand beside Brittany and tentatively reached her hands out. Brittany moved her hands so she could take over. Santana smiled when she finally touched them and they didn't flinch from her. "This is so cool!" She practically squealed. After a couple of seconds, she felt bolder and moved her hands to scratch their chins. A moment later, both of the reindeer, tilted their heads so Santana could rub more of their faces.

Santana couldn't help but to oblige. She liked them so much already.

"They like you." Brittany said.

"They're just big sweet boys, aren't they?" Santana said with a giggle.

"Girls." Brittany corrected.

"Girls?! But they have antlers." Santana said in confusion.

"Girl reindeer have antlers too." Brittany simply said. "They aren't like the deer in the U.S. that you're used to."

Santana chuckled. "I think I figured that out when they _flew_ us here."

"Fair point." Brittany said giggling as well.

Santana noticed the tags on the harnesses that the deer were wearing. "Pop and Lock…is that their names?"

Brittany nodded. "Mike loves to dance."

A few moments later, Pop nuzzled her nose into Santana cheek causing her to let out an excited yelp.

"She just wants you to give her more attention." Mike said coming from around the side of the sled. He was finished unloading their bags. "She's a big baby. She'd be content to just be petted all day."

"I think I would be content to pet her all day too." Santana said and she giggled again when Lock felt left out and nudged her cheek too

"They're both big babies." Mike said.

"Girls!" Whitney called from the house.

"We're coming." Brittany called.

"I guess we have to go." Santana said to the deer with a little pout.

"Don't worry. I'll take you over to the stables to visit them again soon." Brittany said.

"Okay." Santana said and giving Pop and Lock one more good scratch, before they thanked Mike for the ride, and promised to hang out with him soon.

Before they stepped into the warm house, they kicked the snow off their boots and hung up their parkas in the foyer before going into the living room. Santana looked around and she was surprised to see that it looked like a normal house. She wasn't sure what she was expecting an elf house to look like, but she wasn't expecting it to look so normal. The color scheme and decor was very Christmassy, red, green, and gold, and some of the pictures on the walls were moving, like in the album that Brittany had given her for Christmas two years ago, but other than that, it could have been a house in Ohio.

"We put your stuff is in your apartment, instead of your old room. We thought that it would give you two a little more privacy." Whitney said.

Before moving to be with Santana, Brittany lived in a small apartment that was above her parents' home workshop. They had built it almost eighty years ago as a place for them to tinker in their free time. At the time, Brittany was twenty-one years old and looking for more independence, so they added the apartment to the construction plans for her to live in.

"Oh good." Brittany said. She liked the idea of having more privacy with her new wife.

"I set up the fireplace. All you have to do it light it when you feel like it, and your keys are sitting on the counter." Pierce said.

"Thanks, Dad." Brittany said. She knew they would use that fire.

"Well honey, I hate it, but unfortunately, your father and I have to leave for work." Whitney said with a pout. It was Christmas week, the busiest time of the year for the North Pole, so they still had to go to work even though Santana and Brittany were visiting. "I was going to make breakfast, thinking that we could eat together before we left, but since your sled was an hour late, we don't have time to eat with you."

"It's okay, Mom. We're not really hungry right now anyways, and we have plenty of time over the next two weeks to have breakfast together." Brittany assured her.

"I know, but I hate running out on you. You just got here."

"Oh, I know what we should do…we should play hookie!" Pierce said bouncing up and down on his toes as if he just had a marvel idea.

"No, you can't do that. You'll end up on the naughty list." Brittany said playfully, but also seriously. She had never known her parents to skip out of work when they weren't legitimately sick. They loved going to work.

"She's right." Whitney said. "And if we skip work this week, Santa might not let Brittany and Santana come up again for Christmas; you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No." Pierce shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide in fright.

"Then I guess we're off to work." Whitney sighed and she remembered the time difference when she saw Santana trying to stifle a yawn. "I'm sure you two are tired anyways and probably want to take a nap."

"Yeah, we haven't been to bed yet." Santana said, yawning again. Now that some of the adrenalin from the excitement of their flight had worn off, she was quickly getting tired. They had been up all day, and stayed up late for their flight at two o'clock, but with the delay and the time change, it was already almost nine o'clock in the morning.

"Then you better get some sleep, but don't sleep too long, you want to get acclimated to the time." Whitney suggested.

"I figured we'd nap for a couple of hours and then I'd take Santana out and show her around." Brittany said.

"Sounds good." Whitney said trying to sound happy, but Brittany could still see she was disappointed to be leaving.

"Maybe we can come by and see you and Dad at work for lunch. You can introduce Santana to your friends." Brittany said. She knew how proud her parents were of her, and they loved to brag that they had "the most beautiful human daughter-in-law." Something that none of their friends had. She was sure that her parents were just dying to show Santana off.

Both Whitney and Pierce's faces lit up. "Oh, yes, please do!" They both said at the same time.

Brittany and Santana chuckled at how excited they seemed. "Then you better go before you're late. We'll see you soon." Brittany said.

"Okay, okay. We'll definitely see you soon." Whitney said and she and Pierce gave both girls a hug and a kiss on the cheek before they put on their coats, hats, and gloves, and left for work.

"Do you want a tour of the house now, or do you want to wait until later?" Brittany offered.

"I would love a tour, but I need a nap more. I'm starting to fall asleep standing up."

"Then let's get bundled up."

"How far is your old apartment?"

"Not far at all. It's just in the back yard." Brittany said reaching for their coats hanging on hooks by the front door.

"Do we really need to put all of that back on, only to have to take everything off again? Can't we just run out there quickly?" It seemed as if it would be a lot of hassle for a few seconds.

Brittany nodded and held out Santana's coat for her to take. "Trust me, we do. If it was the summer, I'd say we could get away with it, but it's too cold and dangerous not to wear a coat outside this time of the year, even if we're only going a few yards. Safety first. Distractions and mishaps can come up at any time, and without the proper attire, exposure happens quickly. You're not used to these types of temperatures, and you don't want to find yourself in the hospital wing with hypothermia or frostbite. We've lost too many elves over the years from those kinds of unintentional and careless mistakes, so I don't want you to take that risk.

That was all Santana needed to know to be convinced. She didn't want to take that kind of risk either. She happily put on her outerwear and followed Brittany through the living room and kitchen to the back door. Santana instantly felt the temperature change when they stepped outside. She wasn't cold because of her gear, but she could feel that it was much colder outside. She thought about that as they walked the twenty or so yards to the workshop and climbed the separate, outside steps that led up to the apartment, which was thankfully as warm as the house.

"You're right, I feel the difference." Santana said.

Brittany nodded as she unzipped her coat and looked at the thermostat on the wall. "To put it into perspective, it's _negative_ sixty degrees outside right now, and it's _positive_ sixty-eight degrees in here…so there's almost a hundred and thirty degree temperature difference from outside to inside."

Santana's eyes nearly bugged out of head in shock. "Holy crap."

"See what I mean." Brittany said. She didn't want to scare Santana, but she wanted her to know that while the North Pole was an amazing place, it also had its dangers.

"Yes. I will always have my stuff on to go outside." Santana promised with a little nod of her head.

Brittany smiled and then kissed Santana softly on her lips. "Thank you…now; let's get out of these clothes and into bed."

"Done." Santana said with a chuckle. She was exhausted.

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : Merry Christmas to those that celebrate, and to those that don't, I hope you still have a merry day!

Thank you for reading! I know it's a busy time with the holidays, but if you get a chance, pretty please let me know what you are thinking of the story. I love getting feedback from y'all!

Again, **naynay1963** is the best beta!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A few hours later, Santana was taken from one of the best naps in her life by Brittany lightly kissing her neck.

"It's time to get up." She mumbled right below her ear.

"But I don't wanna move." Santana slurred. The dark room, foam mattress, flannel sheets, and down comforter was so comfortable and warm.

Brittany giggled. "I know, but you have to. We're meeting Mom and Dad for lunch, and I know you really want to start exploring the village."

That perked Santana up a bit and she opened her eyes. "That's true."

"Then let's get up and take a shower. You'll love elf water. It's sparkly like glitter."

"Really?" Santana said sitting up, clearly excited to shower in glittery elf water.

Brittany shook her head and started laughing. "No, it's just regular water, but you believed it."

Santana lightly smacked Brittany on the arm for teasing her again. "Brittany! That's not funny."

"Yes it is." Brittany teased, still laughing.

"Well how am I supposed to know what's true and what isn't." Santana pouted. All she knew about elf life was what Brittany told her.

"I know, I'm just picking at you." Brittany said and kissed Santana softly on her lips. The kiss lingered for a few seconds and when they parted, Santana had a silly grin on her lips. "Come on; let's get ready to go out."

"Okay." Santana said excitedly, flipping the covers away from her.

Once they were showered and bundled up, they left the apartment. They walked hand in hand through the village towards the workshop and it was as if Santana's head was on a swivel. Everything she looked at drew her attention. She thought the village was so cute with houses expertly decorated for Christmas; every store had a beautiful window display, and the smells that came from the restaurants and bakeries were simply divine.

They walked a little further and Brittany pointed towards a large red brick building a few blocks ahead of them. "That's where I went to school."

Santana smiled widely. "Is that were you learned to creep on unsuspecting humans?" She said seizing the opportunity to tease Brittany.

Brittany just giggled at Santana's joke. "Yes, that's where I learned to be a scout elf. I learned a lot of other 'less creepy' stuff in there too."

"I remember." Santana said with a sweet smile. Brittany had told her all about her schooling. "That's why I say you're the smart one out of the two of us."

"I think we're equally smart. We just had different education systems." Brittany said.

School in the North Pole was a little different than it was in the human world. Elves didn't just go to school for twelve years, plus four years of college. Their education was ongoing, well into adulthood. It wouldn't be uncommon for a middle aged elf over the age of one hundred and fifty to be a student in the class. As children, from age five to sixteen they would receive an education in subjects similar to what was taught in human schools, such as math, literature, science, history, geography, etc., but they also took classes that helped them to control and refine their magic, and basic Christmas classes such as decorating and stocking stuffing. After they turned sixteen, they took master classes in specific areas that depending on the subject could be several years long.

Brittany had specialties in toy making, wrapping and inventory, reindeer care, and scouting. She had had a variety of jobs in her life, as did most of the elves in the North Pole. Having multiple specialties meant that they were more versatile and able work in other areas when needed, which helped to boost production, and it improved morale, because with a three hundred year lifespan, learning new things was imperative to warding off boredom and discontent.

As they continued on, a group of kids ran past them, pulling small sleds behind them towards the school where it looked as if an epic snowball fight, complete with ice fortresses that were undoubtedly constructed using magic, was taking place in the snowy front lawn.

Santana couldn't help but to chuckle. "It looks like they're having fun."

Brittany nodded, reminiscing about the days when she was a kid playing in that lawn. "Yeah, they'll be there all day. Mom used to have to drag me away from there sometimes.

"Kicking and screaming, I bet."

"There may have been some protesting on my part." Brittany said with a smirk.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the workshop, and Santana craned her neck, admiring the Christmas tree that was in the courtyard. It was the biggest Christmas tree she had ever seen, and of course, it was so beautifully decorated, she was sure it was the epitome of Christmas trees.

"Wow!" Santana breathed out as she tried to take in every detail of the perfectly placed and color coordinated ornaments and lights. "It's perfect."

Brittany giggled. "It's pretty nice."

"Pretty nice?! Brittany I don't think I've ever seen a tree that gorgeous. This is what all Christmas trees aspire to be."

"I think our tree at home is amazing."

"Yeah, it totally is because you decorated it. Who better to decorate a tree than a former Christmas elf?"

"You helped."

"I just placed the ornaments were you told me to and it is so much more beautiful than when I used to decorate it by myself."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana and nuzzled their noses. "For the record, I loved your tree that first year. I thought it was perfect."

Santana felt her cheeks heat up. "Thanks."

"Do you want to go see the workshop?"

"I mean, I guess so." Santana joked playfully rolling her eyes. "Yes, of course I do!"

"I thought so." Brittany said releasing Santana from her hold and taking her hand again. "It's pretty cool."

"I'm sure it's better than cool." Santana said.

As they walked around the tree, Santana noticed the building for the first time, and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. The word 'workshop' was an understatement. It in no way conveyed how big the building before her was…'ginormous factory' was more appropriate. A marble staircase led to a tall, thick wooden door that reminded her of the doors she would see on castles in movies. The columns that supported the roof were no ordinary cylindrical or square shaped columns; they were toy soldiers with red hats and coats, white pants and sashes, black boots, and gold buttons and tassels. There was an ornate wreath on every window with garland strung between them.

"It's so… _big_." Santana blurted for lack of a better word, but now that she thought about it, of course the workshop had to be big. Billions of people got gifts every year from Santa.

Brittany just chuckled. "Let's go inside."

Santana just nodded dumbly as she followed Brittany up the stairs.

When they got to the door, Santana was surprised to see smaller doors built into in the big door, though she supposed that that made sense too. They didn't need to open the giant door for just them.

Brittany held the door open for her and Santana walked in to a large reception area that smelled like warm cinnamon spice cake. Santana inhaled deeply. "It smells good in here."

"It always smells good in here. It usually alternates between peppermint, cinnamon, vanilla, or sugar cookies." Brittany said taking Santana's hand again. She waved to the elf working the desk. "Hi Carol."

"Sus-I mean Brittany!" Carol cheered, almost calling Brittany by her former name. "It's good to see you! Is this your wife? Your mother talks my ear off about you two every chance she gets."

Brittany smiled widely. "Yes, this is Santana. Santana this is Carol. She's one of my mom's best friends and she's practically like a second mother to me. She's Finn and Kurt's mom."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you." Santana said holding her hand out for Carol.

"It's nice to meet you too. It isn't every day we get such a special guest here in the North Pole."

Santana felt her cheeks heat up at the praise that she didn't think she had earned. "I don't think I'm that special."

"Well, you're the first human that has ever been allowed to visit, so I think that makes you pretty special." Carol said with a warm smile. "But, you're also Brittany's wife that I _know_ she's head over heels in love with, so that alone must make you special, don't you think?"

Santana's cheeks burned a little warmer. "Yeah." She said shyly.

"I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I know how much your mom and dad are looking forward to you meeting up with them. They came in here this morning in a complete tizzy, so I better let you go before they spontaneously combust." Carol said with a little laugh, and Brittany giggled as well, because that sounded like her parents. "Do you want to check your coats?"

"Yeah, thanks." Brittany said.

They took off their parkas, stuffed their gloves and hat in their pockets, and gave them to Carol, who in turn gave them a claim slip.

"I'll let Santa and Joy know that you're here. They'll want to know, and make sure you come by to visit before you go home. The boys and Burt will want to see you and meet Santana."

"Of course. We'll definitely see you guys before we leave." Brittany said.

"Have fun!"

"We will." Brittany said and she took Santana by the hand again, leading her towards where she knew where to find her parents.

As they walked through the hallways, Santana marveled at the décor. Unsurprisingly, it was Christmassy. The walls were a deep red with gold trim, the accent rugs on the marble floor resembled wrapping paper, and the light fixtures and chandeliers throughout were shaped like ornaments.

As they were passing by a set of double wooden doors, Brittany stopped abruptly. "Hey, do you want to take a detour?" Brittany asked pointing above the doors to oversized building blocks, each with a letter that spelt out 'TOYSHOP'.

"Yes!" Santana blurted excitedly, but then sheepishly added, "Only if you think your parents won't mind."

"It won't take long, and we can cut through the shop to get to Wrapping and Inventory."

"Okay." Santana said bouncing on her toes. She was practically shaking on the inside. Instantly she was five years old again, and she couldn't wait to see Santa's toyshop.

Brittany giggled at how excited Santana was, and she was excited as well, because she had been looking forward to seeing Santana's reaction. "This isn't the main entrance, but I think you'll still like it." She said and lightly squeezed Santana's hand. With her free hand, she snapped her fingers and both doors swung open.

Brittany led Santana onto an observation balcony that looked down to the floor.

Santana gasped, her eyes wide as she looked around at all the elves working diligently, crafting toys by hand at the different stations.

"It's so…wow." Santana breathed, her eyes bouncing around the vast shop. She couldn't keep her attention focused on any one spot for more than a few seconds because there was just so much to take in.

Brittany smiled as she wrapped her arm around Santana's waist and kissed her on her temple. "The first time I saw the toyshop was about ninety-five years ago and even now I still think it's pretty 'wow'."

Santana nodded. "It's the ultimate toy store."

"Yeah, except you can't buy any of the toys. You have to earn them."

"Tell me how it all works." Santana asked. Brittany had told her before and she had to use her imagination to see it, but now that it was in front of her, she wanted Brittany to tell her again.

"It's all very simple, even if it looks overwhelming. Each station has workbenches where the toys are made and then once they're finished, they are put on conveyor belts that weave around the shop, taking them to stations for quality control, then packaging, and then they're put back on the belts to be transported to the Wrapping and Inventory Department."

"Can we go down there?"

"Yeah, of course."

They went down the staircase that led to the floor and Santana almost laughed when they passed a map that displayed the whole toyshop and the different stations. "A map?"

"Yes. Trust me, when you first start working here, it's easy to get lost. It took me a couple of weeks to be able to navigate without getting turned around."

Santana had to agree that made sense. From the balcony, she could see how expansive the toyshop was, and now that she was at floor level, she could see pathways that led in several different directions. "Fair point. I feel a little lost right now."

"It's not bad once you know where everything is." Brittany said.

They zig-zagged through the lanes and Santana's head was on a swivel again, looking into each station to watch the elves work. Their trek was slow because Brittany saw several of her friends and they would briefly stop to talk so she could introduce Santana to them.

By the time that they made it across the shop to the door that would lead them to Wrapping and Inventory, Santana had met more elves than she could remember their names. They walked through a long hallway until they came across a receptionist desk.

"Hi Emma." Brittany said with a smile.

"Susie!" Emma said with surprise, and then she corrected herself. "Sorry, I mean Brittany!"

"It's okay." Brittany said with a warm smile. She knew when she became a scout elf and adopted the new name her family gave her; it would take some time for people to get used to calling her by a new name.

"It's good to see you. I didn't know you were here." Emma said.

"You mean you didn't hear mom and dad yelling it from the rooftops?" Brittany said with a chuckle. She was sure her parents had told everyone.

"I guess I must have missed them."

"We're up for two weeks…this is my wife Santana, Santana this is my friend Emma. We were in Toy School together, what like fifty-three years ago?"

"Seems like it was yesterday." Emma said. "And it is so nice to meet you, Santana."

"It's nice to meet you too." Santana said and held out her hand for Emma. She noticed that she hesitated for a second before she gingerly shook her hand. Once she let go of her hand, she reached down and picked up a bottle of hand sanitizer, squirted it in her hand, and rubbed them together. "I'm sorry, Santana, it's not you. It's me." She said when she saw the confused quirk in Santana's eyebrows at her actions. "I'm a bit of a germaphobe."

"Emma won the best organized station award for twenty years straight when she worked in the toyshop because wherever she worked, it was always spotless and put together." Brittany added.

"Oh…that sounds cool." Santana said, unsure if that was the right thing to say.

Emma chuckled. "It does have its advantages."

"Well, we better run." Brittany said. "We're meeting Mom and Dad for lunch and it took us a little longer to get here than I thought it would. We got caught up in the toyshop by people stopping us to talk, and I'm sure they're getting antsy waiting on us."

"I'm sure. Enjoy your meal. I met Will for lunch earlier, and of course, I brought my own food, but Will seemed to enjoy the roast duck and sugarplums."

"Sounds delicious." Brittany said.

Emma clicked a few keys on her computer. "It looks like both your parents are in Wrapping today…your dad is at the London station, bay thirty, and your mom is in Spain, bay two."

"Great, thanks Em."

"You're welcome. It's good to see you two. Hopefully, we'll cross paths again while you're here."

"Definitely." Brittany said and then both she and Santana bid her farewell with a little wave.

"She seems nice. A little quirky, but nice." Santana said when they rounded the corner and were out of earshot.

"She is. She's come a long way with dealing with her OCD. She used to wear plastic gloves when she wasn't at home, until Toy School, because the gloves made it hard for her to build the toys, so instead of wearing them, she started disinfecting everything. It slowed her down, but she worked as hard as she could and her craftsmanship was impeccable. Santa understood that even though we were on a tight schedule, she needed a little more flexibility, so he wasn't as concerned about her productivity numbers as he would have been for others. "

"That's sweet of him."

"Well, he is sweet, but it isn't just for Emma. He set up rules hundreds and hundreds of years ago that concerned the fair treatment of elves with limitations and disabilities."

"That's good to hear. For some reason, I never really thought about elves having disabilities. I kinda just thought you were immune to those kinds of things because of your magic."

"Well, our magic does afford us a lot of advantages over humans, but we're still people, and susceptible to disabilities and illnesses."

"It was silly of me to think that." Santana said. She felt bad for thinking that.

"It's okay. You didn't know, and you weren't being mean about it." Brittany said.

A moment later, Brittany opened a door and motioned for Santana walk inside. As she did, she gasped for what felt like the hundredth time that day, when she saw the wrapping room. It was almost as big as the toyshop.

"All gifts come through Inventory where they're cataloged, assigned to a recipient, and stored by city name, and then they are sent in here for wrapping and labeling before returning to Inventory again where they are kept until they are loaded into Santa's bag." Brittany explained.

"This is so amazing." Santana said. The myths made Santa's workshop seem small and whimsical, but from what she had seen so far, it was elaborate and organized, and the fact that it was still a secret from a human world that she was sure would find a way to exploit it if it ever became known, made it even more impressive. "I'm so glad that I'm allowed to see this."

Brittany smiled proudly. She loved that Santana was happy to be there, and was enjoying herself. "Let's go find Mom and Dad."

Unsurprisingly, there was a map at the entrance that directed them to all the different stations, but Brittany had worked in Wrapping and Inventory as well, so like the toyshop, she knew where everything was.

"All the stations are organized by continent and country, so it'll make it quicker for us to find them since they're both in Europe." Brittany said as she led Santana through the lanes.

Santana couldn't help but to giggle. "I love how you worded that…'They're both in Europe'."

Brittany giggled too. "Well, they are."

The moment they arrived in Europe, Whitney spotted them, and let out a loud and overly dramatic squeal as she rushed towards them.

"Annnd, here it comes." Brittany whispered a mix of annoyance or embarrassment in her quiet tone.

"Be nice. She's happy to see us." Santana whispered back. She loved that Brittany's parents fussed over them as much as they did. It made her feel loved and accepted.

Whitney wrapped them up in a crushing hug that involved a lot of shaking. "My girls are finally here! I missed you!"

"We missed you too." Brittany said just as Pierce bounced over to them and joined in on the hug fest, increasing the amount of shaking that was happening.

When they pulled out of the embrace, Whitney took both girls hands. "Come on, before we eat, there's a few people we _have_ to see."

A few people actually translated to more than fifty. Santana was introduced to every one of Whitney and Pierce's friends in every continent, and a few of Brittany's friends that happened to be there as well.

Thinking that Santana may be becoming overwhelmed, Brittany took her by the hand and lightly squeezed. She waited a few more moments and then politely interrupted her mother's tangent about how she thought that snow was so much better in the North Pole than in Ohio "Hey Mom, sorry, I have to go to the bathroom." She said pointing to the door with her thumb.

"Oh me too." Santana quickly said.

"Why don't you and dad go to the cafeteria and save us a table. Preferably one by the windows, and we'll meet you in there."

"Okay, sure." Whitney said with a little nod.

"See ya in a few." She said and then tugged on Santana's hand for her to follow.

In less than a minute, Brittany had them out of the busy wrapping room and in the bathroom. Brittany pushed on all the stall doors, checking to see that they were empty before she snapped her fingers, locking the door.

She sighed. "I'm sorry about that, San."

Santana chuckled. "Why are you apologizing?"

"It's just that my parents can be a bit much sometimes."

"They're fine. They were just excited. I didn't mind meeting their friends."

"All forty-two of them? I counted."

It's true, normally things like that would have annoyed Santana, but this time it didn't.

"Yes. I can't remember all their names, but I didn't mind meeting them, and I mean, it's kinda nice to know that your parents like me so much that they wanted their friends to meet me. You know how afraid I was that they'd hate me because you became human and I took you away from them."

"You didn't take me away from them. They still have me, _and_ now they have you too. Plus, you know they could never hate you. Not when I love you so much and you make me as happy as you do." Brittany said with a smile and wrapped her arms around Santana.

"I love you too." Santana said returning Brittany's sappy grin. "And I love your parents and all their quirks, just like I love yours."

Brittany smile widened and kissed Santana softly on her lips. When they parted, Brittany took her hand again. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Yes, but first I _really do_ have to go to the bathroom." Santana said with a wink. She had not been trying to escape Whitney and Pierce when she said she needed to go.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Brittany said with a sheepish nod. "Actually, I guess I could go too."

Once they were finished, Brittany snapped her fingers to unlock and open the door before she led them to the busy cafeteria, which was big enough to seat the entire population of the North Pole.

"The stories all have it wrong." Santana said looking around her in awe. "Nothing in the North Pole is small."

Brittany giggled. "A couple of times a year we all get together, so we need a place that's big enough. We're going to have Christmas Dinner here too. It's tradition."

Santana nodded. "I can't wait."

Brittany looked around the room and it only took her a few seconds to find her parents sitting at a table close to the windows. They walked over and sat down with them. A waiter came by not too long after to take their order. Within minutes, their food was brought over on a tray that was levitating beside the waiter. Santana, Brittany, and Whitney all had the roast duck with mashed potatoes and green beans, hot chocolate to drink, which Santana thought was the best she had ever had, and sugarplums for dessert. Pierce deviated from the ladies and had a carved turkey sandwich and _three_ desserts…sugarplums, snickerdoodle cookies, and peppermint bark.

Santana playfully knocked her shoulder into Brittany's and nodded her head towards Pierce. "I see where you get your sweet tooth from." She said once they finished eating.

Brittany just stuck her tongue out at Santana, because she was right. She and her father had always had a great appreciation for dessert and sweets.

"I hope you have a great dentist up here." Santana joked.

"Well, yeah. The tooth fairy." Brittany said and Santana's eyes widened.

"Wait; hold up, the tooth fairy is real too?"

Brittany bit her lip and tried not to giggle at the incredulous look on Santana's face.

"Are you messing with me again?" Santana said with a raised eyebrow when Brittany didn't say anything.

"Of course she is." Whitney said.

"So the tooth fairy isn't real." She said and looked pointedly at Brittany for picking on her.

"Oh no, she's real." Whitney said and Santana's eyes widened again at the confirmation. "Her name is Edna, and she's lovely, but she isn't our dentist. Carl is our dentist and he is just… _dreamy_."

Pierce just nodded happily, seemingly unfazed by his wife's comment about Carl.

"Hello all!" A jovial voice said coming up to them.

"Joy! Santa!" Brittany chirped when she saw them.

"Hello dears." Joy said with a warm smile.

"I see that you two made it up here safely." Santa said patting Brittany on her shoulder.

"Yeah." Brittany said with a little chuckle.

Santana nodded shyly. She had met Santa and Joy when they came down for their wedding, but there was a big part of her, her inner child that still couldn't get over the fact that they were Santa and Mrs. Claus, that they were real, and that she actually knew them.

"Thank you for allowing me to come." Santana said finding her voice.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa laughed heartily. "You're welcome. You're part of the family now and the North Pole is now your home. You and Brittany will always be welcomed here."

Santana's heart flipped in her chest and her cheeks heated up. "Thanks." She said shyly.

"Do you mind if we sit with you for a few minutes?" Santa asked.

"No! Of course!" Whitney said motioning to the open seats.

Joy sat next to Santana, and Santa sat next to Pierce.

"So, Santana, what do you think of the North Pole?" Joy asked.

"It is the most amazing place I have ever been." Santana said.

Santa beamed proudly. "Now you aren't just saying that to get on my nice list, are you?"

Santana shook her head. "Honestly. I haven't seen much yet, but what I have seen is just so impressive. I mean, everything has surpassed my imagination and expectations."

"Well it is a special place." Joy said with a smile.

"It is." Santana agreed with a nod. "It's infectious too. When we were in the toyshop and the wrapping room, I just wanted to do something." She said with a little chuckle.

"You want a job as a Christmas elf?" Brittany asked with a small smile.

Santana nodded. "Yeah. Who wouldn't?"

"Well I think that's a wonderful idea." Santa said. "If you and Brittany would like to help out while you're here, I wouldn't be opposed."

"Really?" Santana asked perking up.

"Of course, but don't feel like you have too." Santa said.

"There's a lot of departments that could use a few extra hands." Joy added. "Personally, I think a hands on approach is the best way to experience life in our village."

"You could be like an honorary elf." Pierce said.

"Oh, yes." Whitney said nodding her head.

Santana smiled widely. She liked the sound of that. "What do you think, Britt?" She asked. They were supposed to be on vacation, so she wasn't sure if Britany wanted to be volunteered into working.

"I think it's a great idea." Brittany said with a wide smile. It would hardly be work. She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss what she used to do in the North Pole. She liked her new job as an administrative assistant at a small law firm in Lima. It was laidback and flexible, but like it as she did, it didn't fulfill her quite as much as her previous profession did.

"Excellent!" Santa cheered. "I'll send out a message to all the department heads to let them know that you might stop by and lend a hand over the next two weeks. I'm sure you'll want to bounce around, so just come and go as you please."

Brittany nodded and Santana beamed. She was so excited she almost couldn't sit still.

"What do you plan to do after lunch?" Whitney asked. She and Pierce still had to go back to work.

"I was thinking about showing Santana around the workshop a little more and then maybe around town before we meet you back at home for dinner."

"You know, Santana…" Santa said with a little mischievous grin, "I have a little time before my meeting, would you like to see The List?" Most residents in the North Pole had seen the list at one time or another, but only under special circumstances. It was in a restricted area that was only authorized to be freely accessed by a few people.

"Ohmygodyes!" Santana blurted without hesitation.

Everyone chuckled at Santana's excitement.

"Well, we better head to the vault if I'm going to be at my meeting on time, and you all know how I like to be punctual." Santa said.

Joy playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh I know."

After bidding Whitney, Pierce, and Joy farewell, they made their way towards where Santa kept his list. As they walked through the hallways, Santana watched how Santa and the elves interacted with each other. For every elf that greeted him in the hallways as they passed, Santa greeted them all by their names. Santana wondered if he knew everyone.

"Does he know everyone's name?" Santana whispered as Santa briefly stopped to talk to an elf that needed him to look at a report.

Brittany nodded. "Yes. If he knows all the human children in the world, he certainly knows all the elves in the North Pole. He sees them every day.

Santana's cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Of course he knew the people he worked and lived with. "I'm sorry, that was dumb. I should have realized that."

"You aren't dumb." Brittany said rubbing her hands up and down Santana's arms a few times. "You didn't know, so you asked a question. There's nothing wrong with that."

Santana nodded.

"Before we go home, you're going to know so much stuff, you're going to be an expert on life in the North Pole."

Santana chuckled. "I don't know about expert, but I'm excited to learn."

A few moments later, Santa finished with the report and they continued on their way. When they arrived at the vault, Santana was actually surprised that the door didn't look like a vault door. It just looked like any other door. There wasn't anything that was particularly flashy about it, except that there was a palm _and_ a retina scanner by the door.

"This is some serious security." Santana mused as Santa put his palm on the scanner and looked into the retina scanner.

Santa chuckled. "I agree, I probably went a little overboard, but after an attempted scheme some years back by a group of naughty elf kids that thought they could sneak their names on the nice list, I decided to add tighter security to protect the integrity of the list." He said as an electronic beep sounded and the palm scanner lit green. He reached for the door handle and pulled it open. "Ladies first." He said motioning for them to step in ahead of him.

Santana moved to enter first. She had tried to keep her mind clear of any preconceptions about what the list would look like, but as she entered the vault, she knew that she had not been expecting a thick scroll hanging from the ceiling.

"Whoa. Talk about paperwork." Santana said craning her neck up, looking at the paper sprawling around the room. "And you check this twice? I'd be so done with it after checking the first town."

"Actually, it's computerized now, so it's easier to search." A voice came from across the room.

Santana turned to see a blonde female elf at a computer station that she had not noticed when she entered the vault.

Brittany smiled widely. "Hey Quinn!"

"Hi, Brittany. I didn't know you were going to be here." Quinn said coming from around the console and meeting them in the center of the room.

"We're up for a couple weeks." Brittany answered and gave Quinn a quick hug.

"Sir." Quinn said nodding at Santa as he approached and he greeted her in return. "And who is this?" She asked looking Santana up and down.

Santana immediately felt as if she was being analyzed.

"Q, this is my wife, Santana." Brittany said. "Santana this is Quinn. She's a good friend of mine. We grew up together."

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you." Quinn said with a friendly smile and held out her hand. "Brittany has told me a lot."

"Same here." Santana said shaking her hand and returning the smile.

"Quinn is one of our List Keepers." Santa said. "She's been integral the past thirty years in maintaining the list. Nothing gets past her."

"I try." Quinn said with a proud and pleased smile.

"Well, I have to run or I'm going to be late. Quinn, can I ask you to give Santana a little tour?" Santa asked.

"Of course." Quinn said with a nod.

"Thank you." Santa said turning towards Brittany and Santana. "You're in good hands. I'll be sure to send out those messages after my meeting. Have fun exploring."

"Okay, thanks." Brittany and Santana said at the same time. "See ya." Brittany added.

"See ya." He said and waved at the three ladies before taking his leave, closing the vault door behind him.

"So, what do you want to know about the list?" Quinn asked.

"Umm…" Santana drawled, unsure of where to start because she had a lot of questions. She was wondering if 'everything' was an appropriate answer to Quinn's question when Brittany answered for her.

"Why don't you start with the command center?"

"Good choice." Quinn said and motioned for them to follow her behind the desk.

"Command Center?" Santana mouthed with a raised eyebrow. She had not been expecting 'The List' to need a something as serious sounding as a 'command center'.

"Mm-hmm." Brittany nodded with wink.

Santana's eyes widened when she saw all the buttons, switches, monitors, and security footage. "Holy crap!" It was definitely more sophisticated than she ever thought it would be.

Quinn and Brittany just chuckled at Santana's reaction. "Yes, it is extraordinary." Quinn said.

"What does it all do?" Santana asked.

Pointing to the right, Quinn said, "Well this is the security controls. It's pretty self-explanatory." She said and then pointed to the left side. "This area controls the movement of the list, and this…" she said pointing to the center area, "is where we update the list and enter the naughty or nice reports."

"Wow…So if it's all electronic now, why is there a paper list?"

"Santa has a soft spot for a physical list since that is what he used for centuries, so we still have one. Every year, the ink on the list disappears on Christmas day, and we start all over."

"Magic ink?" Santana said raising her eyebrows.

"Mm-hmm." Quinn said. "It's reusable, so there is no waste."

Santana nodded. "Can I see it?"

"Who do you want to look up?" Quinn asked.

"Me, duh!" She said with a chuckle.

Quinn chuckled as well. "Okay…Lopez is the last name, right?"

Santana nodded and Brittany added, "Lima, Ohio."

Quinn typed the information into the computer and within seconds, Santana's profile popped up. Below her name and picture, it showed her current status as 'Nice' in green lettering, her current address in Lima, her current location showed as the North Pole, and below that was a header that said 'Reports' with links showing as corresponding years. Quinn entered a few more commands and the list started to move above their heads.

Santana watched in awe as the paper of the scroll wound round the room. Then, after about a minute or so, part of the list dropped down in front of the desk so they could read it. There, mixed in with other names, but plain as day, in neat green script, was 'Santana Lopez'.

"This is the coolest thing ever." Santana breathed looking at her name. "Why the red and green ink instead of black?"

"So it's easy to tell whether you're naughty or nice at a quick glance. It eliminates the need for two lists and allows us to use just one." Quinn answered. "Green is nice and red is naughty. Depending on your reports, we evaluate the behavior and change the color of your name."

Brittany reached over, clicking on the year closest to the mouse arrow on the screen, **2001** , taking them to a bulleted list. Santana began to read the information and her eyes widened again because she was instantly taken back to when she was seven years old.

"You beat up a kid named Steven?" Brittany asked with a teasing smirk.

"Hey, he deserved it!" Santana said defending herself.

"What did he do?" Quinn asked.

"He tried to take my fruit snacks."

"So you beat him up?" Brittany said.

"Yeah. No one messed with me and my snacks."

Brittany chuckled and looked back at the list. "Well I guess you made up for it by helping the elderly lady that lived next door walk her dog."

Santana's cheeks heated up. She remember offering to help Ms. Appleton with her dog when she found out that she had fallen and bruised her hip. He parents didn't even ask her do to it, she did it on her own. Every day after school for two months, she came home and took Travis for a walk around the neighborhood.

"She was nice. She always gave me candy when she saw me, and I loved her dog." Santana said.

"That was sweet of you." Brittany said and looked at the list again. "Oh, I see you made all A's on your report card that year."

"You didn't marry no dummy." Santana said smugly.

"Are you sure you passed grammar?" Quinn teased and Santana playfully stuck her tongue out at her.

"Yes."

"Clearly."

Brittany clicked on **2010** , but then quickly clicked out of it after reading a few of the bullets and seeing the red writing at the top. "Apparently that was a naughty year."

"I might have had a bit of a rebellious streak as a teenager." Santana said shrugging.

"I believe it. I knew you had a naughty side." Brittany said and clicked on **2014**. "Let's go to the college years."

After the were finished with Santana's profile, Quinn asked, "Anyone else you want to see?"

Santana grinned mischievously. "Brittany. I just know there's some good dirt in there that she'd never admit to."

"Oh boy." Brittany said playfully rolling her eyes. "Can I veto that request?"

Quinn shook her head. "I mean, I think fairs fair. You saw hers, so now she gets to see yours."

Santana smiled triumphantly. "I like her."

By the time they left the vault, Quinn was Santana's new best friend and she felt smug having learned that her wife, sweet as she was, also had a bit of a naughty streak in her youth.

They toured the rest of the workshop, visiting a few more departments before they strolled through town, stopping to look in a few shops and a café for a hot chocolate and sugar cookie before Brittany took Santana to a spot that she just knew she would want to see.

"Where are we going again?"

"It's a surprise." Brittany said summoning a lantern from her parent's house with a wave of her hand.

"Why do we need a lantern?"

"It's just a little outside of the village, not too far from the Candy Cane Forest, and the town's lights won't be bright enough out there to see everything."

"Okay." Santana said getting an answer to one question, but not getting any closer to knowing what their destination was.

Finally, when they arrived, Brittany looked at the GPS on her watch a few times, maneuvering Santana inch by inch until she was there.

"Okay, don't move." Brittany said.

"Okay?" Santana chuckled. "What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Nothing, you're already there. You are standing in the exact spot of where the North Pole is."

Santana's face lit up. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. And here's a fun fact… since that is the northern most point on the planet, all directions from there point south."

"That is so cool." Santana said looking down at her feet.

"You're _literally_ on top of the world."

Santana smiled and held her arms out for Brittany. "Come here. I want you to be on top of the world with me."

Brittany stepped closer to Santana, setting the lantern on the snowy ground before wrapping her arms around her. She leaned down a little and captured Santana's lips in a soft kiss.

They kissed sweetly for a few moments before they pulled out of the kiss, but not each other's arms.

"How many people can say that they've kissed their wife at the top of the world?" Santana asked.

"Probably not many." Brittany said with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Then I guess we better do it again."

Brittany smiled and kissed Santana again, letting it linger between them.

When they parted from the kiss, Brittany asked, "Are you cold?" They had been outside for a while and Santana wasn't used to those temperatures, so she didn't want to push it.

"A little bit, but it's not too bad." Santana said. Her gear was doing its job at keeping her insulated.

"I know you wanted to go to the stables, but I think we should save that for tomorrow so we don't have to rush. Mom and Dad will be coming home soon and they'll be expecting us." Brittany said picking up the lantern and taking Santana's hand into her own.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

"You know what else is a good idea?

"What?"

"I think after we have dinner and visit with Mom and Dad for a little while, we should feign sleepiness, smuggle a bottle of wine out of the kitchen, and go back to our apartment so we can make a fluffy pallet on the floor in front of the fire and have a little _alone time_. How's that sound?"

"That sounds _perfect_." Santana breathed, feeling excited already.

"Then come on Mrs. Lopez." Brittany cooed nodding her head towards the village.

Santana chuckled. "Yes, my love. Lead the way."

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : I hope you all like this little story so far. Thank you for reading. I know it's the holidays, and everyone is busy, but if you get a chance, please leave a little note :-) Chapter 4 is written, but I have to read through it, send it to my beta, and edit it, so as soon as that is done, I'll post it.

As always, my beta **naynay1963** deserves all the thanks!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was Christmas Eve Eve, and Santana and Brittany had been in the North Pole for five days. True to their word, they made good on their offer to help. The first three days were spent volunteering in the stables, toyshop, and vault respectively. The fourth day was split between the wrapping and inventory rooms, and the fifth day started in the cafeteria kitchen making cookies for Christmas Dinner. After lunch, they went to the stables, because Santana really wanted to see the reindeer. The stable staff was happy to see them again, because they could always use a few extra hands with preparing the deer for Christmas Eve.

They were tasked with brushing the reindeer and making sure that they were fed and watered. Since the feed could be heavy, and Santana didn't have Christmas magic to help in lifting the bags, she started brushing the reindeer while Brittany took over moving the bags and filling the buckets so she and Santana could distribute them later.

Santana hummed to herself as she brushed Pop's coat. She was enjoying the work she was doing, because it didn't feel like work. The toyshop and caring for the Reindeer were her favorites so far, but she had had fun in the other departments as well, because once she was shown what to do, she found she was good at it.

She giggled as Pop nuzzled her cheek with her nose. As much as Santana loved all the reindeer she had attended to, Pop and Lock were her two favorites because they were the ones that she met first, and when she saw them again, they instantly remembered her and wanted to see her.

"What?" She said lightly as Pop nudged her cheek again.

Pop tilted her head to Santana's coat pocket and sniffed it, knowing that she had something tasty in there.

"Do you want a treat?"

Understanding, Pop grunted and lifted her head.

Santana giggled again and put her hand into her pocket. She pulled out a baby carrot and held it out for her in the flat of her palm.

Pop eagerly gobbled up the treat, grunted again, and put her nose to Santana's pocket again.

"Now don't get greedy. I gave you five already." Santana said and rubbed under her chin. "I have to give some to the others too."

"She doesn't like to share, especially when carrots are involved." Mike said coming up to her from behind.

"She knows what she wants." Santana said and gave Pop a little kiss on the bridge of her nose. "Nothing wrong with that."

"I guess not." Mike said with a chuckle. "And a few extra carrots won't hurt since she's flying with Santa tomorrow night. She needs all the energy she can get."

Pop and Lock had easily secured a spot on the team, along with Twinkle, Snowflake, Tinsel, Belle, Ginger, and Glitter.

One of the first things that Santana learned from Brittany about the North Pole two years ago was that Santa did indeed use eight reindeer to pull his sled, but their names weren't always Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. It wasn't until after 'The Night Before Christmas' came out in 1823. Santa had enjoyed the poem so much, that he named the next group of deer after them. Then, when the story of 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer' came out in 1939, one of the newborn calves was named Rudolf. Santana was happy to know that at some point those were the actual names of Santa's reindeer. It was not just a made up story. It was real and it made that part of the Christmas tradition so much more special.

Currently there were over thirty reindeer living in the stable, and all of them had flown on Christmas Eve with Santa. There wasn't just one exclusive team. Every year the team was chosen in June from the top eight finishers of The Reindeer Games, where the deer would compete in a series of sporting events that measured agility, speed, endurance, and strength. The Games lasted four days, and it was almost as popular as Christmas.

When Santana heard about it for the first time, she couldn't help but to compare it to a dog show. According to Brittany, the deer enjoyed it, because it was a break from their routine. It gave them something else to do than just flying back and forth delivering goods between the North Pole and the rest of the world.

"So what are you and Brittany doing tomorrow night?" Mike asked.

"Umm, I don't know. Brittany says the toyshop is busy right up until Santa leaves, so we're going to volunteer in the toyshop early tomorrow, but after that, I don't know. Whitney and Pierce haven't mentioned any plans for Christmas Eve."

"Well, a bunch of us were talking earlier and we're going to go to The Chimney, if y'all want to come too. A lot of Brittany's friends will be there."

"The Chimney?"

"Yeah." Mike chuckled. "It's a club. We'll have a couple of drinks, dance a little…it'll be fun."

"Yeah, it sounds like fun. I'll talk to Brittany."

"Talk to me about what?" Brittany asked as she walked into Pop's stall with twenty buckets of deer feed levitating behind her.

Santana couldn't help but to giggle at all the floating buckets. She just loved Christmas magic.

"A bunch of us are going to The Chimney tomorrow night." Mike said.

"Oh really?" Brittany asked perking up. "It's been a while."

"We used to go all the time." Mike told Santana. "I can't tell you how many times we closed that place, got three hours of sleep, went to work, and then did it all again."

Brittany chuckled. "I don't think I could do that now without hating myself. After I turned ninety-five that got a lot harder to do."

"Grandma." Santana teased. Even though they were relatively the same age, and Brittany's human age was listed as thirty, there was a seventy year age difference between them, and sometimes Santana liked to tease Brittany about being 'old'.

"Oh really, Miss Thirty?" Brittany said. "Who was the one a month ago that told me they had to go to bed early when I asked them go to a nine o'clock movie?"

Santana balked. "That's not fair. You knew I had a presentation the next day."

"We would have been home before midnight and you didn't have to go to work 'til noon." Brittany countered. "You could've slept all morning."

"It wasn't because it was too late to go out. I just wanted to be prepared for my presentation." Santana said adamantly.

"Mm-hmm." Brittany said with a tone that said she didn't believe that for a second.

"So are y'all in?" Mike asked.

Brittany and Santana looked at each other, and without words they knew what the other's answer was. "Yeah, totally." Brittany said with a smile.

"Awesome!" Mike chirped. "Santana, Tina will be there too, so you can meet her then."

Santana recognized the name as Mike's wife. "Yeah, it should be fun." She said as Pop nudged her cheek again and then put her nose to her coat pocket.

"Well, I better run, I have three sleds to service…I'll let you get back to being extorted for treats." Mike said, winking at Santana.

"I am _not_ being extorted." Santana said putting her hand in her pocket and pulling out a carrot, holding it out for Pop. "I'm giving them to her _willingly_."

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that." Mike said and waved at them before he left.

"You know that you really are a big sucker, right?" Brittany teased when Santana gave Pop another carrot.

"I am not." Santana said and scratched under Pop's chin. "She's my buddy, aren't ya?"

Pop grunted and nuzzled Santana's cheek again.

"See?"

Brittany chuckled. "I have to admit, the deer all love you. They're going to be sad to see you go."

"Me too. I wish I could take one home with us, but that might be suspicious."

"Yeah, a reindeer roaming around our backyard would definitely draw some attention."

"I guess we'll just have to stick to more socially acceptable animals for our life in human suburbia."

"Well if you want, we can get a dog or a cat." Brittany said wrapping her arms around Santana. "I know we talked about adopting a baby soon, but we don't know how long it will take once we start the process. It could take a while, so a sweet fur baby that we can spoil and give all our love to would be nice while we wait. Then once the baby comes, we can spoil both of them."

Brittany and Santana couldn't wait to have children together. The plan had always been to wait a few months after they got married to enjoy their honeymoon phase, and then start expanding their family. Neither one of them were keen on the idea of going through pregnancy and childbirth, but they wanted children, and since they couldn't have a child that was biologically theirs together, adoption seemed as if it was the perfect option for them. They loved the idea of giving a child who had no one a loving and caring home.

"You want a pet, Britt?" Santana cooed.

Brittany smiled and nodded. "But only if you want one too."

"Which one would you like?" Santana asked.

"Maybe a cat." Brittany said. "I love dogs too, but ever since my cat Charity died a few years ago, I've been missing having a cat around."

Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany softly on her lips. "When we get home let's go to the shelter and have a look."

Brittany beamed and kissed Santana again. A moment later their kiss was interrupted when they were pushed by Pop accidently bumping into them on her way over to the floating buckets, her nose sniffing wildly.

"I think she's hungry." Santana said with a chuckle.

"I couldn't tell." Brittany said with a wink and reached for a bucket, pulling it out of the air and pouring it into Pop's trough. "I better go. All the other deer are going to be waiting, and I see Lock looking over here. You better make sure you have a enough carrots. I'm sure she's been watching, and she won't take kindly to you spoiling Pop more than her."

"I've got it covered." Santana said and pulled a big bag of baby carrots out of her deep pocket.

"You catch on quick." Brittany said smiling. "I'll see you in bit." She said and gave Santana a peck on her lips.

"Love you." Santana said.

"Love you too." Brittany said with a wink.

-()-()-()-()-

The next day, Santana and Brittany were hard at work, assembling baby dolls. Santana was surprised that even an hour before Santa was scheduled to leave for his flight, they were still making toys. They were in 'crunch time' as Brittany called it. Every year, they were busy right up until departure, but every year they made their deadline.

"You know, I was never much into dolls." Santana said as she fluffed the doll's purple dress. "But just the idea that this doll is going to bring some child a lot of joy, and we helped to make that happen really makes me feel good."

Brittany smiled, primping her doll's hair. "I know. It always makes me feel good too. I love giving gifts so much more than receiving them."

"True." Santana had to agree. As much as she loved getting gifts, especially the sparkly kind, she loved seeing the faces of the person she was giving the gift too. It was one of the best feelings in the world.

"What do you think Santa is up to now?" Santana asked.

"Oh, he's probably in the vault, going over the list one more time."

"I still can't believe he can read it that fast."

"Well he's a demigod. He has powers and abilities even elves don't have." Brittany said with a shrug.

Santana chuckled. "Who knew speed reading was a superpower."

Brittany chuckled too. "Mm-hmm."

Once they were finished with their last toy and placed it on the conveyor belt to be sent to quality control, they checked with the supervisor to see if they were needed elsewhere, but all the stations were finishing up, so they were thanked for their help and then they left to get their coats from the coatroom. They planned to go down to the courtyard where Santa always said a few words before he left.

When they walked out of the workshop's 'big castle-door', as Santana had started calling it, they saw a large crowd had already started gathering.

"Hey, look over there." Brittany said pointing down to the large sled with a huge red and white bag in the back. Some of the stable crew were in the process of hitching the reindeer to the sled and there was an elf on a ladder, putting a few last minute gifts into the bag.

Santana couldn't help but to gasp when she saw the sled for the first time. She couldn't believe that she was actually looking at Santa's sled. After being in the North Pole for almost a week, she knew she shouldn't have any expectations based on human folklore, but she halfway expected the sled to be red and festively decorated, but that was far from the case. In fact, she liked the reality so much more. It was modest, but beautiful, constructed of fine mahogany with simple carvings in the wood and a fresh polish that made it shine as the town's lights shone on it.

"How in the world does he get all the presents in that bag?" Santana said in awe. She had been in the inventory room, and while they had already started loading the presents, there had been a lot of presents still waiting to be loaded.

"Really?" Brittany asked with an amused smile as they walked down the marble staircase to join the crowd.

"I know; I know…Christmas magic. It's the answer to everything around here." Santana said.

"Yes, Christmas magic. There's a charm on the bag that allows it to hold more than it appears." Brittany elaborated.

"Do you think I can get one of those as a purse?" Santana asked very seriously.

Brittany snorted. "That's the last thing you need. Your purse is already a bottomless pit. You don't need to be able to put more in it."

"Hey, I live out of my purse when I'm not home. If I had a magic purse, I could carry a smaller bag, and I wouldn't look like I was carrying a small suitcase around."

Brittany playfully rolled her eyes. "I can see it now, I'd get you a magic purse, and I'll find your car in it one day."

"I can do that?!" Santana blurted.

"No." Brittany said with a smirk. "But you should have seen your face. I bet you would have tried to do it."

Santana lightly pushed Brittany on her shoulder. "You're mean."

Brittany giggled and kissed Santana on her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too…sometimes." Santana said crossing her arms and pretending to be annoyed with her.

"You love me all the time." Brittany said and uncrossed Santana's arms, sliding her hands down the sleeves of her parka and taking both of her gloved hands into her own. "Even when I tease you."

"You better be glad you're cute." Santana muttered, trying to stifle an amused smile.

Brittany wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at her, causing Santana's façade to fade and she giggled. "I'll see what I can do about getting you a magic purse. Just don't pull a Mary Poppins and put a potted plant or something like that in it, okay?"

"But, you know a potted plant would look great in my office at work." Santana joked.

Ten minutes passed as they waited, and just as Santana was starting to feel cold from standing in the same spot without moving, the crowd of elves around her started to clap and cheer when Joy and Santa stepped up on to the sled and faced them waving.

"Hello all!" Santa said to the crowd. "Another year has passed and as always, we have had a successful run! None of this would be possible without you. It amazes me what you all can accomplish and it truly warms my heart to see how much effort you all put in to everything you do so others can have the merriest of Christmases! That selflessness and love are what this world needs now more than ever. So from myself, and my lovely wife Joy, we thank you. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping to bring a little bit of happiness into the world. Now, please enjoy your Christmas Eve with your friends and family. Celebrate all the great things you have accomplished this year, and tomorrow we'll all dine together for Christmas dinner!"

Santana and Brittany clapped along with the crowd, both of their hearts full.

"Does he go by himself?" Santana asked as the crowd started to disperse.

"No, he has two assistants that travel with him."

"That's cool. At least he isn't alone."

"Mm-hmm. So is there anything you want to do before we go home?"

"I think I could go for a hot chocolate."

Brittany smiled widely. "I like where your head is at."

-()-()-()-()-

Later that night, after a nice family dinner with Whitney and Pierce, they all opened one gift that was under the tree, and then Santana and Brittany left for The Chimney, while Whitney and Pierce went to meet up with their friends at The Nog, which was a piano bar that appealed to an older clientele.

When Santana and Brittany arrived, the music was blaring, the dance floor was busy, and the bar was hopping. Santana quickly noted that with the exception of all the people having pointy ears and magic powers, it could have been a club anywhere in the world.

After they checked their coats, Santana held onto Brittany's hand and looked around as Brittany pushed through the crowd looking for her friends. It took a few minutes, but she found them at a table right off the dance floor.

"Hey guys!" Brittany said.

"Hey!" They all cheered.

"Brittany, it's good to see you, but we know you, introduce us to your girl!" One of the guys said with a chuckle.

"I was getting there, don't rush me, Artie." Brittany playfully admonished. "Guys, this is my wife Santana. Santana…Mike and his wife Tina…Quinn and her husband Puck…Finn and his girlfriend Rachel…Kurt and his husband Adam…and Artie and his girlfriend Kitty."

Santana had met a few of them over the past few days. Of course she remembered Mike and Quinn, she had spent a lot of time with them when she volunteered in their departments, and she remembered meeting Finn and Puck. They worked in the stables too, but she didn't spend a lot of time with them when she was there.

"Here, have a seat." Mike said motioning to the two open chairs that had been saved for them.

"Thanks." Brittany and Santana said at the same time as they sat down. "So just a little back ground in what everyone here does, Tina and Rachel make ornaments." Brittany said. "Kurt and Kitty are in fashion. Adam makes bells, and Artie is a list keeper, like Quinn."

Now that Brittany had told her what everyone did, Santana felt as if she should do the same. "I'm in marketing, nothing as cool as what you all do." She said and she meant that. She made a good living in marketing. She was good at it and she loved her job, but after volunteering around the North Pole for a week, she was convinced that it was the best place in the world to work.

"Marketing is pretty cool too." Tina said with a warm smile. "Don't put it down."

"Where is Mercedes?" Brittany asked.

"She couldn't come. Shane and the baby both have a cold, so she's at home taking care of them." Kurt answered.

"Oh, that's too bad." Brittany said with a frown.

"They said they're going to try to come tomorrow, if everyone is feeling up to it."

"I hope so." Brittany said. She'd hate for them to miss Christmas dinner. It was the most popular event in the North Pole. "So what have you all been up to? Tell me everything!"

It had been a year since Brittany became human and moved to Ohio permanently, so it had been that long since she really was able to spend time with her friends. She had talked to a few of them on the phone, but it wasn't the same as sitting down with them in person, kicking back, and having a few drinks.

They talked for almost two hours, Brittany catching up with her friends, and Santana making new friends. They shared several bottles of wine and beer before Brittany and Mike's favorite song came on, and they rushed to the dance floor together.

Santana smiled as she watched Brittany and Mike tear up the dance floor. She knew that Brittany loved to dance. They danced at home all the time and they had gone out a few times to a club to dance, but seeing her dance with Mike, and how easily they moved with each other, amazed her. She had never seen Brittany dance like that.

"They're really good together." Santana said.

"They are, but they've had a lot of practice. They used to do this all the time." Tina said. "They've won so many dancing competitions here, I've lost count."

Santana nodded. She didn't know that.

When the song ended, Mike and Brittany came back to the table. "Guys, knock back those drinks so we can hit the floor!" Mike cheered and downed what was left of his beer, waited for Tina to finish her drink before grabbing her by the hand, and pulling her to the dance floor.

By then, they all had a good buzz going, so even the most reluctant dancer of the group had let go of their inhibitions and picked up their drinks.

"Come on, babe! I wanna dance with you." Brittany said bouncing on her toes.

"Okay, okay." Santana said with a giggle and finished the last of her wine.

No sooner had Santana set down her glass, was Brittany pulling her to her feet. When they got on the dance floor, Brittany wrapped her hands around Santana's waist, pulling her flush against her, and together they moved to the beat of the music.

They danced to several songs before the D.J. finally turned things down and played a slow song.

"Are you having fun?" Brittany whispered in Santana's ear as they turned in a slow circle.

"Yes." Santana breathed.

"Everyone loved you. I knew they would."

"I like them too. They all seem great…well Rachel and her damn gold stars ornaments are ridiculous, but she's still okay, I guess."

"Trust me, we all have our moments where we can't stand Rachel, but she's not all bad."

"I'm so glad that I got to meet your friends."

"Me too."

Santana bit her lip for a moment before she asked, "Do you miss living here?"

"What?" Brittany asked and pulled back a bit so she could see Santana's face.

"I mean, now that I've seen how great it is here, and your friends and family are here, I know you have to miss it."

Brittany shook her head. "I do miss things here, but I have friends and family in Lima too. I love our life there. I don't regret moving for a second."

"But Lima is so shitty compared to the North Pole."

"No it isn't. It's just different."

"I can't believe you gave all of this up for me." Santana said feeling a lump form in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was just the alcohol that was making her feel emotional or if she was just feeling overwhelmed that Brittany gave up such a great life for her.

"Honey…I'd give up a thousand North Poles for you." Brittany said and kissed Santana softly. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you, I love our life together, and I love the future we're going to have. It doesn't matter to me where we live; all that matters to me is that I'm with you."

Santana swallowed hard. She needed Brittany's reassurance. "I love you too."

Brittany kissed her again and Santana deepened it. When they parted, Brittany rested her forehead on Santana's as they swayed to the music. When the song ended, a faster song came on. "Do you want to leave?" Brittany asked.

Santana shook her head. "No, I want to stay. I was just having a moment, but I feel better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm-hmm." Santana said smiling.

"Alright." Brittany said kissing Santana's lips one more time, before she found the beat to the music and swayed her hips into Santana's. Santana melted into Brittany, allowing her to guide her movements until they were moving as one.

For the next two hours, they danced, shared kisses, had a few more drinks with their friends, and danced some more until the D.J. made the announcement for last call. It had been such a fun night, Santana was sad that it was ending.

"We all _have_ to go out again before you leave!" Kurt said a little too loudly as they were walking out of the club.

"Absolutely." Brittany and Santana said at the same time.

"New Year's for sure!" Puck slurred and slipped on the ice.

"Okay, I think it's time to go. This one is done." Quinn said picking Puck up from the ground.

"Yeah, I think this one is ready for bed too." Mike said with his arm around Tina who was giggling incessantly at every little thing.

They all bid each other good night and went their separate ways.

"I had so much fun!" Santana chirped as she and Brittany walked home.

Brittany giggled. "Me too."

"We have to do this more often."

"Clubbin'?"

"No…well yes, but here. We need to visit more often. This has been the best vacation ever! I just love it here!" She cheered as she raised her hands in the air and turned around in a circle as a light snowfall fell around her.

Brittany giggled again and wrapped her arm around Santana's waist, twirling with her for a few turns before pulling her into her and kissing her deeply.

Santana returned the kiss until she was out of breath and reluctantly had to pull away for air. She looked Brittany in the eyes for a few moments, before she whispered, "Take me home."

Brittany nodded and she wrapped her arm around Santana's waist leading her back the apartment. Santana nuzzled her nose into Brittany's neck, placing kisses there every so often as they walked.

When they arrived, they hurried up the stairs, both giggling as they closed the door behind them and started to shed all their layers of clothing. Brittany snapped her fingers twice- once to light the logs in the fireplace, and once to assemble a blanket pallet on the floor in front of the fire- before she wrapped her arms around Santana, picking her up, and kissing her as she carried her to the blankets and laid her down. They made love over and over again, until they only energy they had left was to pull a blanket over them before they fell asleep on their fluffy makeshift bed.

-()-()-()-()-

Six hours later, Santana woke to the feel of Brittany's arm draped over her waist and her lips placing a slow line of kisses across her shoulder blade.

"Hey, Britt-Britt." She cooed rolling over to face her.

"Hey, San. Merry Christmas." Brittany cooed and leaned in, kissing Santana softly.

The kiss lingered between them and when they parted, Santana nuzzled her nose with Brittany's. "Merry Christmas, Britt."

Brittany kissed Santana one more time, just because she felt like it. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay. Good." Santana said. She had had a lot to drink the night before, but she stuck to wine, so she thankfully didn't feel hungover. "I'm a little thirsty though. What about you?"

"I'm good. Just a little thirsty too." Brittany said. "Are you ready to have your first Christmas at the North Pole?"

Santana's face broke out into the widest smile as she nodded. "Yes! Let's go!" She cheered sitting up, the blanket that was covering her fell into her lap.

Brittany chuckled. "Okay, well you might want to think about putting some clothes on first."

Santana looked down at herself and Brittany, seeing that they were both still naked. "Right…that might be helpful." She said laughing.

"Just put on some jammies and your coat. We don't have to get showered and dressed until later."

"Okay." Santana said pecking Brittany on her lips one more time before she hopped up to find her pajamas.

Once they had dressed and brushed their teeth and hair, they put on their boots and coat and hurried from their apartment to the back door of the house. As soon as they walked into the kitchen, they found Whitney and Pierce in their pajamas making breakfast.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" They both cheered when they saw the girls.

Brittany and Santana both chuckled. "Merry Christmas!" They both said at the same time.

"What time did you get home? Did you sleep well?" Whitney asked.

"About two-thirty, and we had the best sleep ever." Santana answered for them.

"That's great." Whitney said. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please." Brittany said and Santana nodded.

Pierce poured them two mugs of hot chocolate and told them to sit at the table in the dining room while he and Whitney brought the food in.

The table was already nicely set with the fancy dishes that were only used on Christmas and other special occasions.

After a hearty breakfast, they went into the living room to open presents. Santana was surprised to see that there was only the presents that they had put under the tree. There didn't appear to be a single present from Santa, which she thought was a little strange.

"Santa probably isn't back from his trip, so he doesn't have time to put our gifts under the tree before we wake up, so he always gives them to us at the party." Brittany said reading her mind.

"Oh okay." Santana said with a nod. That made sense to her.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Whitney asked.

"You go Dad." Brittany said.

Pierce beamed at being told to go first. He reaching into the pile and pulled out a gift from Whitney. He tore it open to find a sweater that Santana would classify as an 'Ugly Christmas Sweater' but he seemed thrilled with it.

"Brittany, your turn." Pierce said.

Brittany reached in pulling out a gift that was a joint gift for her and Santana from Pierce.

They tore the paper off to find a toaster. They both raised their eyebrows in surprised because it seemed like an odd gift, seeing as they had a toaster at home that worked just fine.

"Your mom told me at your wedding I had to give a toaster, but I couldn't find one, so I decided to save it for Christmas."

"Pierce, I said you had to give a _toast_ , not a toaster." Whitney clarified.

"Oh." Pierce said sheepishly and his smile faded.

"Well it's still a perfect gift." Santana said. "Our toaster is a few years old, so we definitely needed one."

"Great!" Pierce chirped, perking up, a proud smile forming on his face.

Brittany took Santana's hand into her own and lightly squeezed it, silently thanking her for making her father feel better about his gift.

"Mom, your turn." Brittany said.

Whitney picked a gift from Pierce and when she opened it, she found it was a matching sweater to the one that she had given him.

"Twinsies!" Pierce and Whitney cheered at the same time and they leaned in front of the girls so they could give each other a kiss.

Santana couldn't help but to chuckle and Brittany just shook her head in amusement. Her parents we definitely one of a kind.

They took turns opening the rest of the presents, then, as was tradition in their house, they watched a few Christmas movies before they had to get ready for dinner at the workshop.

"You look beautiful." Brittany said as she came into the bathroom to find Santana putting the finishing touches on her make up. She was wearing a red sweater dress, thick stockings, and leather boots that came up to her upper-calf.

"Thanks. You look beautiful too."

Brittany was wearing a pair of silver dress pants and a sparkly blue sweater.

"Thanks, babe." Brittany said with a wink and gave her a little pat on her bum.

"Do you think I'll be warm enough wearing this?" Santana asked looking at Brittany in the mirror over her shoulder. She was now second guessing her choice in clothing.

"Just wear the full length parka you brought and you should be fine."

"Alright." Santana said and rubbed her lips together before turning around.

"Ready?"

"I am so ready. This is going to be the best Christmas party ever." Santana said as they walked into the living room to gather their things.

"Don't tell your mom that. It might hurt her feelings." Brittany said with a chuckle.

"I mean, my mom's Christmas parties are great, but I just don't think it will compare to one at the North Pole with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a bunch of Christmas elves. It is the ultimate Christmas party."

"That's true." Brittany said having to agree.

"But when I talked to her earlier, I didn't tell her we were going to a party; I just told her we were having a family dinner at your Uncle Kris' house."

"That was smart. She didn't ask me what we were doing tonight when I talked to her. She just asked me what I thought of the bracelet you got me. Apparently you took forever making a decision and dragged her from store to store, and then bought the first one you liked at the first store."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Traitor…she wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"I think it's cute that you fussed over it so much." Brittany said and twisted her wrist flashing the white gold bangle. "And I do love it."

"And I love the earrings that you bought me. What do you think?" She said flipping her hair out of the way to show Brittany the diamond studs.

"Very pretty. And they go well with your wedding ring." Brittany said with a smile.

"As much as I like my earrings, I think my magic purse is my favorite gift." Santana said lifting the black medium sized leather bag. "How in the hell did you pull this off? We were just talking about it yesterday and there was no way you could have gone to the store to get this. I was with you the whole time."

"I may have made a quick, sneaky phone call to Kurt when you made a trip to the bathroom. I told him what your style was and he picked it out, wrapped it, and then gave it to Carol to give to my parents while they were at The Nog. They put it under the tree when they got home."

"Well I love it. I'll have to thank Kurt when I see him. He has impeccable taste."

"He'll appreciate that." Brittany said and then she noticed the time. "Oh, we better go. Mom and Dad will probably be waiting on us."

Once they were bundled up, they went to the house to meet Whitney and Pierce and then they all walked to the workshop. When they arrived, the 'castle door' was open to accommodate the influx of people. After they checked their coats, they made their way to the busy and mostly full cafeteria, where they looked around until they found the table next to Carol and Burt that they saved for them.

They hadn't been there long before an elf that Santana didn't recognize walked up the table.

"Brittany? Santana?" She said looking at them.

Brittany recognized her immediately. She was Santa's administrative assistant in his office. "Hey, Marley." Brittany said with a smile. "What's up?"

"Hey. Santa sent me to tell you that he would like to talk to you two in his office."

"Now?" Brittany asked.

Marley nodded. "Yes. He needs to speak with you right away."

Santana and Brittany both looked at each other puzzled.

"Do you know what it's about?" Brittany asked, sounding concerned. She couldn't think of a reason that Santa would need to see them so urgently.

"Umm…well, yes, but I'm not sure it's my place…actually, it would be better if you talked to him." The pensive tone in her voice told Brittany that something was definitely up. This was not a request for a social visit.

"O-okay." Brittany said standing up and taking Santana's hand. She glanced at her, and Santana looked worried.

"Brittany, should we come with you?" Whitney asked. Now she was concerned.

Brittany shook her head. She knew if Santa wanted them, he would've asked for them too. "I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just wants to talk to us about giving the reindeer too many carrots." She said with a smile hoping to calm her mother.

Whitney nodded, but she didn't seem convinced.

Santana and Brittany followed Marley through the crowd of people and into the hallway towards Santa's office.

"Are we in trouble?" Santana whispered to Brittany.

She couldn't think of anything they had done since they arrived that would get them in trouble. As far she knew, they had followed all the rules of the village. Even when she talked to her parents earlier, she didn't tell them their true location. They were under the impression that they were in Alaska, because when Brittany's parents visited Lima for the first time, they were afraid they'd accidently slip and tell them they were from the North Pole, so they told her parents that Brittany's parents lived in North Pole, Alaska.

"I…I don't know." Brittany said unsure. She couldn't think of anything they did that would get them into trouble either, but they did have a lot to drink the night before, so maybe her memory was skewed. What she did know for sure was that whatever the reason was, it was serious.

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : I hope you all have had a happy new year! Chapter 5 is written, I just have to review it before I send it to my beta. It will be out as soon as possible. Thank you for reading! Please send me your thoughts if you have a chance.

Thanks to my beta **naynay1963** for proof reading. Also, I'd like to thank my friend **FloatYourBoat21** for her help with this chapter as well!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When they arrived at Santa's office, Marley opened the door and ushered Brittany and Santana inside. "Just have a seat on the couch; he'll be in in a few minutes."

Brittany wondered why they were sitting on the couch, instead of the chairs in front of the desk, but she nodded anyways.

"Do you want anything?" Marley asked politely as they sat down.

"No, thanks." Brittany said as Santana shook her head.

"Okay." Marley said with a smile that Brittany thought looked as if she was trying too hard to be natural and closed the door to the office.

Once they were alone, Santana sighed. "Brittany, I feel like I'm in the principal's office and I'm about to get expelled."

Brittany had to admit that it felt like that. "Yeah..."

"What do you think is going on? I don't know Marley, but judging by the look on her face, and the way she was intentionally vague when you questioned her, something is wrong and it obviously involves us, but what I can't figure out is why. I can't think of anything that we've done that Santa would be upset about."

Brittany shook her head. "I can't think of anything either…except maybe something happened while we were out last night."

"Like what? We weren't that drunk. We weren't disruptive or anything."

"Someone could've made a complaint about us."

"For what?" Santana said shrugging her shoulders. She couldn't see any reason why anyone would complain about them. They kept to their group the whole night.

"Maybe they didn't like that we were so touchy feely."

Santana's face fell. She didn't even think about that being an issue. Maybe at home in Ohio, but not at the North Pole. "Are you serious? You think that could be it? I thought you said people here were accepting of gay couples."

"They are." Brittany sighed. No one that she had ever seen batted an eye when it came to same sex relationships, so that line of thought did seem as if it was reaching, but maybe it wasn't because they were both girls. "Maybe we were just being too handsy. Maybe they thought we were being inappropriate in public."

"We weren't that bad, we weren't indecent; we were just dancing like everyone else. Hell Kurt and Adam, and Finn and Rachel were all over each other too, probably just as much as we were, and they're still sitting at the table we just left."

Brittany nodded. That was true. They had been at the table with them for over fifteen minutes and neither couple mentioned anything out of the ordinary. "Maybe we should just wait to see what he has to say before we get too worked up. Guessing about it is obviously getting us nowhere."

Santana huffed and flopped back into her seat crossing her arms across her chest. She didn't like being confronted without knowing what it was about ahead of time. She was a planner and liked to have a well thought out response when defending herself. "Fine…I just hope that if we are in trouble and we get kicked out of the North Pole, it isn't because of some petty bullshit."

Brittany hated that Santana was upset. This was not how she wanted their first Christmas as a married couple to go. "Hey, look at me." She said scooting closer to Santana and taking both of her hands into her own. "I don't know why Santa wants to talk to us, but I know him. He's a reasonable man. Whatever the reason, he'll listen to what we have to say, and I honestly don't think he's going to banish us from the North Pole."

Santana sighed deeply. "I hope not. I really like it here."

"I know you do." Brittany said with a smile. "I think we're both letting our imaginations run away from us. It may not be as bad as we think. He really could want to talk to us about giving the reindeer too many carrots."

Santana couldn't help but to chuckle at Brittany's joke. "Maybe."

"I mean, I didn't give them any, but we're a team, so if you go down for the carrots, I'll take half of the blame too."

Santana playfully rolled her eyes. "Thanks babe."

"But in all seriousness, it'll be okay." Brittany said. "When he found out that I revealed myself to you, he was concerned, but not mad, so whatever we've done couldn't be any worse."

Santana had to admit that that made sense and she felt a little bit better. "I guess we'll find out."

They didn't have to wait too long though. Less than five minutes later, Santa walked into the room and closed the door behind him. The first thing Brittany noticed was that he didn't look mad, just tired, which would have been understandable seeing as he had been up all night delivering presents, except that she knew that Santa _always_ took a nap before the party, and it didn't look as if he had slept yet.

"Hello ladies." He said with a warm, but tired smile and sat down in the armchair next to the couch.

"Hello." Santana and Brittany both said at the same time. They both sat up.

Santana swallowed hard. She was so nervous; her stomach was in knots.

"I'm sorry you had to wait. I had a few things to take care of and then I had to make a call down to the cafeteria to tell them that I was going to be late and that they should go ahead and start the party."

"That's okay. We didn't mind waiting." Brittany said politely.

"So tell me, how has your Christmas been so far?" He asked.

Confused that that would be his first question, Santana and Brittany glanced at each other for a moment, before they looked back at Santa.

"It's been really great." Brittany said vaguely. She figured the less she said until she knew what was going on, the better.

"That's good. Santana, has your first North Pole Christmas met your expectations?"

Santana nodded, still unsure what that had to do with why there were in the office in the first place, so she guessed that he was trying to make small talk. "It's more than met them…it's been one of the best Christmases that I can remember." She said honestly. She was hoping that it wouldn't be her last North Pole Christmas as well.

"Yes, I'm sure it is." Santa said thoughtfully with a small knowing smile. "So, I guess you two are wondering why I asked Marley to bring you here instead of talking to you at the party?"

Santana nodded and Brittany let out a little nervous chuckle. "A little bit."

Santa sighed and gripped both arms of the chair that he was sitting in with his strong hands. His facial expression morphed from tired to somber. It was obvious that he had something weighing heavy on his thoughts. "Last night…something serious happened, and well, I think that you two might just be who I need to talk to."

Santana swallowed hard and the knot in her stomach twisted tighter. She instantly felt sick. They were definitely in trouble. Brittany had been on the right track when guessing the reason for their summonses. She knew she shouldn't have doubted Brittany's instincts. Something did happen while they were out. Now she was second-guessing the whole night. Maybe they did drink too much and she couldn't remember everything that she thought had happened. She glanced over to Brittany and she saw that she looked just as anxious as she felt. She tightened her grip on Brittany's hand and she felt her squeeze it in return.

Neither one of them said anything, not knowing where to start. Santa continued.

"I've been doing this job a long time, hundreds of years, and in that time I've seen a lot of things. Good and bad…and what I've learned by watching people is that sometimes good people do bad things. Sometimes they don't mean to do them, and sometimes they do them because they feel lost and afraid, and they feel as if there is no other alternative. It doesn't make what they did right, but it does give some perspective into why they did what they did."

"I…don't think I'm following." Brittany said. "Did we do something last night that was bad?"

"Oh good heavens, no!" Santa said and Santana and Brittany both let out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry if it seemed as if I was talking about you. I haven't slept and I tend to ramble when I'm tired…it's just that…well I was trying to tell you something, but I think it might be better if I show you first." He said and then he stood up. He went over to the door and opened it a little bit, but it was not wide enough for Santana and Brittany to see what was out there. "Come on in, dear." He said opening the door wider.

The next thing they knew, Joy walked into the room, holding a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. Santana and Brittany's breath hitched in their chests, because it was unmistakably a baby.

"What?" Brittany managed to say as she stared at them.

Santa and Joy walked over to them, Joy sitting in the chair that Santa had previously been sitting in and Santa snapped his fingers, moving one of the other chairs in the room beside her so he could sit down as well.

Joy adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms so Santana and Brittany could see her face. They both just stared at the baby with wide eyes. She had a tuft of brunette hair showing from under her hat, peachy skin, and the cutest chubby cheeks either of them had ever seen.

"I wish I could say that this was the first abandoned baby that I've come across while delivering presents, but unfortunately, she isn't the first, and she probably won't be the last." Santa said solemnly.

"Where did you find her?" Santana asked never taking her eyes off the baby.

"Anchorage. She was left in a manger in a church nativity scene. When we came by, she was thankfully only a little chilled, hungry, and crying her cute little head off, but no one had noticed her, so we brought her with us. We took her to the hospital wing to be examined, and after a couple of warm bottles and a lot of snuggles, she's doing just fine. They think that she's only a couple of days old.

" _Oh my god_." Santana breathed out horrified. She had tears forming in her eyes.

"Who could do that to their child?" Brittany said. She had tears forming in her eyes as well.

"Someone who thought that giving up their child was in their best interest. They just didn't go about it the right way." Joy said, leaning down and putting a soft kiss to the baby's forehead.

"Brittany, Santana," Santa started to say in a serious tone, "By now, you two can probably guess why I called you in here."

"You want us to take her?" Brittany said still not believing that this was happening.

Santa nodded. "If you want to. She's needs a home, and from what I've heard from Joy and your mother, you two eventually plan to adopt children. I have no doubt that if she goes with you, she'll have a family that loves and adores her, but I also know that this is a big decision, and should not be rushed into. If you decide to take her, I know a special social worker in Alaska that I've worked with before. I've spoken with her already, and she said she can have the adoption paperwork and legalities rushed and taken care of before you go home next week, but if you decide that now is not the right time for you to adopt, then that is okay too. She's sure she can find another family that would love to adopt a newborn."

Brittany and Santana looked at each other and then they looked at the baby again.

"Can we hold her?" Santana asked.

"Of course." Joy said standing up and gently sliding the baby from her arms to Santana's. "We'll leave you two alone for a few minutes so you can talk to each other and get acquainted with her."

"Just remember there is no pressure." Santa said standing up as well. "Decide on what is best for you and then we'll go from there."

Santana and Brittany nodded. "Okay. Thanks." Brittany said.

"Take your time. We'll be just outside the door when you're ready." Joy said and then she and Santa left the room, closing the door behind them.

Santana and Brittany just glanced at each other again, before gazing at the baby in Santana's arms. She wriggled a little bit, opening her hazel eyes for just a moment, looking up at them, before she turned and nuzzled into Santana's chest. She took a few deep breaths before it evened out and she was asleep again.

"Brittany…"

"I know, San." Brittany said wrapping one arm around Santana and resting her other hand on the baby so she could touch her as well.

"She's so per-fect." Santana said her voice cracking. She had tears forming in her eyes again. "I can't believe someone just threw her away. They left her outside in winter! She could have died!"

"But she didn't. She's fine. Like you said, she's perfect." Brittany said because she didn't want Santana to get too worked up over what could have happened.

They didn't say anything for almost twenty minutes, they just sat cuddled together watching the baby sleep and listening to her soft little breaths. Then, without a word, Santana leaned down and kissed the baby on one of her chubby little cheeks before she slipped her into Brittany's arms so she could have a turn holding her.

"Hey, little one." Brittany cooed, even though the baby was still sleeping and she kissed her on her forehead.

Santana's heart fluttered in her chest as she watched Brittany interact with the baby. She knew what she wanted, and she was sure she knew what Brittany wanted, but she needed to talk to her to make sure. "Brittany, what do you want to do?" She asked looking up at her.

Brittany sighed in contentment and gave Santana a little smile. "I want to keep her."

Santana was relieved. They were on the same page. "Me too." She said, smiling as well.

"I think we're ready. We weren't going to wait too much longer before we started the adoption process anyway. This just accelerates our plans a little bit, but it doesn't really change them."

Santana nodded. "True. And who knows how long we would have had to wait for a baby. It could have taken months or a year."

"Now we don't have to wait. We have her. We're mommies, San." Brittany said and Santana just started laughing as tears welled in her eyes again.

"Mommies." She repeated and cupped Brittany's cheeks, kissing her softly on her lips. When they parted, she kissed the baby on her forehead. "Did you hear that little one? We're your mommies."

The baby just gurgled and nuzzled into Brittany's chest, intent on continuing her nap.

"I think she's okay with it." Brittany with a smile.

"She's so cute and sweet." Santana cooed. "I love her so much already."

"Me too." Brittany said and kissed the baby's cheek. She couldn't get enough of her.

"I take back what I said earlier. She's my favorite Christmas present. The magic purse has nothing on her."

"True." Brittany chuckled and then she thought of something they needed to address. "What are we going to name her?"

"She was born right before Christmas and we're getting her on Christmas Day in the North Pole, so I think she has to have a Christmassy name."

"Oh, yes. Definitely."

"I've always liked Noelle." Santana offered.

Brittany took a second to think about it. "I like it. Noelle is super cute, just like her."

"I think it fits her perfectly…I picked her first name, you pick her middle name." Santana said.

"Joy." Brittany said after a moment. "I've always liked her name, and Joy has been such a big part of my life. Santa gets all the credit for Christmas, but she's always been beside him. She's just as amazing as he is."

Santana nodded. "Noelle Joy Lopez…I love it."

"It has a nice ring to it." Brittany said.

"Do you think we should go get them so we can tell them?" Santana asked.

Brittany nodded. "We should, but I want just a few more minutes with you and Noelle."

Santana beamed. She slid closer to Brittany, curling into her side and resting her head on her shoulder as she lightly caressed the baby's cheek with her finger.

Another ten minutes passed before they decided to break the good news. "Do you want to hold her again?" Brittany asked as they stood up from the couch.

"Yes, but I know you don't want to let go of her just yet." Santana said and Brittany smiled and nodded. "I'll take her in a few minutes.

When they opened the door to the office, Santa, Joy, and Marley were sitting in the reception area anxiously waiting on them

"Well?" Santa asked with a curious expression as he stood up from his chair.

Brittany nodded. "We're going to take her."

"Yes!" Marley and Joy both cheered at the same time.

"Excellent!" Santa said. "I just knew you'd love her."

"She is such a little heart snatcher." Santana said gazing down at the baby with a soft smile.

"That she is. She had the hospital staff completely enamored with her earlier." Joy said.

"I believe it." Brittany said.

"Have you come up with a name?" Marley asked.

"Yes." Santana said and looked at Brittany so she could say it.

"Noelle Joy." Brittany said looking right at Joy.

"Oh my." Joy said putting her hand over her melting heart. She couldn't believe they gave the baby her name. "I love it."

"It's perfect." Santa said putting her arm around his wife's waist.

"It definitely suits her." Marley said.

"It does." Santana said looking at the baby and then a thought came to mind, and her happy expression morphed into one verging on panicked. "Wait! Britt, we don't have anything for a baby!" She blurted. They had been so caught up in the afterglow of meeting the baby that they didn't think of anything else. "She needs formula, diapers, clothes…everything!"

Brittany's face fell too when she realized that they had overlooked something as important as that. "Crap! We don't!"

Santa, Joy, and Marley just chuckled at their reactions. "Girls, don't panic. We have you taken care of." Joy said still chuckling.

"Huh?" Brittany said quirking her eyebrow.

"We have everything you will need for her here." Joy said pointing behind Marley's desk to a large, but neatly organized pile of diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, clothes, bassinet, bathing supplies, and blankets. "And before you leave, you just have to tell us what you want for your house in Ohio and it will all be delivered before you get there."

"Really?" Santana and Brittany said at the same time.

"Really." Santa said with a smirk. "We have a workshop full of baby supplies and furniture that you can choose from. You didn't think that we'd drop a baby in your laps and leave you to fend for yourselves, did you?"

"No." Brittany breathed, but she still seem baffled by the whole thing.

"Are you sure?" Santana said. "We can pay-"

"No you will not!" Joy said cutting her off. "You keep that money. You'll need it later for the baby."

Neither Brittany nor Santana knew what to say.

"Thank you." They both finally said. "That's so nice of you." Santana added.

Joy waved it off. "It's the least we can do for you and Noelle."

"She's one lucky little girl." Marley said smiling down at the baby.

"No, we're the lucky ones." Brittany said.

"We are." Santana said agreeing. "We were afraid that it would take a while for us to get a baby and you just made our family come together so much quicker. We can't thank you enough."

"You just take care of her; that's all the thanks we need." Santa said.

"We will." Santana and Brittany both promised at the same time.

"So, shall we pack up your stuff and get out of here?" Santa said. "The party has been going on for a while, so Joy and I need to show our faces at some point or people are going to get worried.

"Yes." Brittany said. "Although I don't think we should go to the party. It's probably too much noise and too many people for Noelle to be around right now."

"I agree. You don't want to overwhelm her, and until she's had all of her vaccinations, it would be best if she wasn't exposed to large public groups." Joy said. "I'll call down to the kitchen and have them prepare you a both a plate to go."

"That would be awesome." Brittany said. They hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so she was hungry, and she knew Santana had to be as well.

"We should find your parents and tell them. They're going to flip when they find out." Santana said with a little chuckle.

Brittany playfully rolled her eyes. "Probably."

"And then we need to call mine." Santana said. She could only imagine how her parents would react to the news. She wouldn't be surprised if she not only had to calm her mother down from crying, but she would also have to talk her out of taking the next flight to Alaska.

"We also need to call work and inform them of the adoption so we can get maternity leave and add her to our medical insurance. Then we need to find a pediatrician." Brittany said. It was as if a list of things they needed to do concerning the baby was all of a sudden filling her mind.

"You'll need adoption paperwork for all of that." Marley gently reminded.

"I'll get on the phone right now to Angela." Santa said walking over to Marley's desk and picking up the phone. "She's expecting my call."

As Santa spoke to Angela, and Joy called the cafeteria, Marley quickly packed the baby's stuff in a diaper bag that was obviously a magic bag, because it looked like a regular diaper bag, but it easily fit everything that was behind the desk, including the bassinet.

"Now you have a magic diaper bag to go with your magic purse." Brittany said with a wink.

"Yes." Santana said playfully pumping her fist like Brittany always did. "Are you sure I can't fit my car in one of them?"

Brittany shook her head in amusement. "God, I created a monster… _no car_ , but a car seat or stroller will easily fit."

Santana's eyes widened. "We are going to be the most prepared human mothers ever."

"Well we'll certainly be the most over packed human parents ever."

"You can never have too much stuff with you when you have a baby."

"If I know you, I'm sure we will be the first ones to accomplish that, but at least our kids will have _everything_ they could ever need when we leave the house."

"I like to be prepared." Santana said with an unapologetic smile. "You'll thank me one day when we need something completely random, and I can pull it out of a bag."

Brittany just chuckled. "You're probably right."

Once Marley was finished packing the bag, she handed it and a newborn sized onesie coat to Santana.

"Wow, it's so light." Santana said as she easily lifted the bag with one hand.

"Christmas magic." Brittany said with a wink.

"Alright." Santa said with a clap of his hands. "Angela is on it."

"Excellent." Joy said. "So are we ready to go?"

"I think so-" Brittany started to say, but she was interrupted by the door behind them flying open, and Whitney storming into the room with Pierce in tow. "Mom?"

"Brittany, honey, what is going on in here? Are you in some sort of trouble? You've been gone well over an hour and the whole time your father and I were worried. We just couldn't sit there any-" She said frantically but then she noticed that Brittany was holding something. "What is that? Is that a…baby?"

"Yes." Santana said with the widest smile. "Whitney, Pierce…meet your new granddaughter, Noelle Joy."

Whitney's mouth fell open, and for the first time ever, she was so surprised, she was speechless. Pierce looked just as shocked. They walked over to Brittany and looked down at the baby.

"She's so cute." Whitney said her voice choking as she spoke, clearly emotional.

"Do you want to hold her, Nana?" Brittany asked softly.

Whitney's heart flipped in her chest at her new name and nodded. As soon as Brittany slid her into her arms, a tear rolled down each of her cheeks.

"Don't cry, honey." Pierce said but he was choked up too. It looked as if he was going to start crying any moment as well.

"I can't help it." Whitney said and gave the baby a kiss on her forehead. "I always wanted a granddaughter."

"Is she elvish?" Pierce asked because the cap was covering the top of the baby's ears.

"No, she's human." Santa said. "I found her when I was on my trip, and I thought that Santana and Brittany would be the perfect couple to adopt her. That's why I called them in here." He explained.

"They're going to be the best parents." Whitney said softly.

"Thanks, Mom." Brittany said with a smile and took Santana's hand into her own.

"Can I have a turn?" Pierce asked anxiously.

As reluctant as Whitney was to let go of her, she couldn't deny her husband a chance to hold his granddaughter. "Be careful not to wake her." Whitney said as she transferred Noelle to his arms.

"I won't." He said looking down at the baby. He sniffled, trying to hold back his tears. "This reminds me of when I held Brittany for the first time."

Pierce was Brittany's biological father's best friend, who died from an unfortunate accident before Whitney found out she was pregnant. Upon learning of her pregnancy, Pierce vowed to help Whitney through it. Through their shared grief, they grew closer, and their friendship eventually turned into love. When Whitney went into labor, Pierce was there, and when he held Brittany in the hospital for the first time, he instantly fell in love with her too. He formally adopted Brittany when he and Whitney married a few months later, and raised her as if she was his own.

"Hi baby girl. I'm your papa." He cooed.

Brittany and Santana both melted as they watched Pierce talk to the baby.

A few minutes passed and the baby eventually started to stir. She cried for a moment before the gentle rocking that Pierce started lulled her back to sleep.

"She's probably getting hungry." Joy said. "I gave her a bottle right before she fell asleep. It's been about two hours now."

"We should go home then." Santana said.

"Yeah." Brittany agreed and took the baby back from her father.

Since the coat that Marley gave them was a onesie, all they had to do was unzip it and put the baby inside, still wrapped in her pink blanket. They pulled up the hood and snapped the button under her chin. Once she was bundled up, Brittany handed her to Santana because she knew that she wanted to hold her again.

"Thanks again for everything." Brittany said to Joy and Santa.

"You're welcome." Santa said.

"We'll stop by tomorrow or the next day for a visit." Joy said.

"We'd like that." Santana said as she rocked the baby.

"I'll have someone from the cafeteria meet us with your food at the coatroom." Joy said picking up the phone on the desk.

"Did you guys eat?" Brittany asked her parents

"Not really. We were trying to wait for you." Whitney answered.

"Then, I'll tell them to bring two extra plates as well." Joy said.

Once the phone call was made, Marley bid them farewell and went to join her family at the party, and Santa and Joy walked them to the coatroom. It only took them a few minutes before the food arrived. They bid Santa and Joy farewell and they all walked home together.

When they arrived at the house, Noelle was awake and starting to get fussy. Brittany rushed into the kitchen with the diaper bag to prepare a bottle while Santana took her out of her coat and rocked her. She was just losing her patience, a wail of annoyance filled the room as Brittany ran in, handing the bottle to Santana.

As soon as the bottle was in her mouth, Noelle calmed and she made the cutest little baby noises as she ate.

After she finished her bottle, they unwrapped her from the blanket so they could burp her and change her diaper. She was wearing a set of pale pink footie pajamas. As soon as they unsnapped it and changed her wet diaper, Santana and Brittany looked her over for the first time. They counted her ten little toes and her ten little fingers. They took off the cap covering her head to reveal a full head of brunette hair and the cutest little ears. They looked for anything out of the ordinary, and thankfully, they saw none.

Once she was redressed in her jammies, Brittany took her into her arms and looked down into her hazel eyes. "She's perfect."

"She is." Santana said wrapping her arm around Brittany's waist and resting her head on her shoulder. "And she's ours."

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : I bet y'all weren't expecting a baby! Well I hope you weren't anyways. I hope I was able to surprise you. If you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts because I always appreciate your reviews!

For those wondering, I'm thinking that there's only going to be one or two more chapters left of this story.

To my beta **naynay1963** , thank you for all that you do! You're a great friend.

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It was four o'clock in the morning on New Year's Eve, and right on schedule, Noelle started crying for her bottle and a fresh diaper.

"You want the diaper or the bottle?" Brittany mumbled in a groggy tone.

"I'll change her. You get the bottle." Santana answered just as sleepily.

They had not had a decent night's rest since Noelle came to them six days prior. The most sleep they've been able to get at one time was about three hours, and that was pushing it. Usually Noelle was ready to eat every two hours.

Brittany snapped her fingers, turning on a lamp and they both got out of bed. Brittany trudged out of the room into the kitchen while Santana went to the bassinet that was at the end of their bed.

"Shhhh. It's okay, Mija. Mama's got you." Santana cooed as she picked up her crying child from her bed and held her against her. "It's okay." She said again rocking her.

She took her over to the makeshift changing table they had made from the top of the dresser and a thick changing pad. A proper changing table, along with other nursery furniture had already been delivered to their house in Lima, and while Santa offered to let them take a second set for their apartment there at the North Pole, they declined. They didn't see a need to use a second set when they would only be there for a week. They insisted they could make do, and they had managed pretty well.

Noelle fussed louder as Santana laid her down on the changing pad.

"I know; I know." Santana said as she unsnapped her pajamas. The past few days she and Brittany had changed so many diapers that they didn't think twice about it anymore. She quickly changed the wet diaper, throwing it into a diaper pail, before redressing the baby.

Once she was clean, Noelle calmed down a little bit, but she was still hungry, so she didn't stop fussing completely.

"Mommy is working as fast as she can, my love. Give her a minute." Santana said as she lifted Noelle from the pad and held her upright against her. Her chubby cheek was pressing against her shoulder and Santana bounced her a little bit, as she held her head for support.

She started humming; knowing the soft sound of her voice would pacify Noelle for a few minutes.

When Brittany came back into their bedroom, she held out the bottle for Santana to take when she was ready. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Santana said as she shifted the baby so she was cradling her. She took the bottle and gently slipped the rubber nipple into Noelle's mouth, instantly stopping her cries, and replacing them with the cute little noises she made when she ate.

They both sat back on the bed, propping themselves against the backboard.

"I'm going to be glad when we get home and we have that rocker to sit in for midnight feedings." Santana said twisting her back to make it more comfortable.

Brittany chuckled. "Yeah. I can't wait to get home and start putting her nursery together."

"Me too."

In fact, it was the first thing they intended to do after they got home and introduced Noelle to Santana's parents. The adoption paper work had been finalized the day before after a quick sled ride to Anchorage to meet with a judge, and sign the papers, so even though it was official that she was their daughter, they both felt that putting together her room and having a permanent space for her in their home made the adoption feel more complete.

"I still can't believe that I didn't have to talk you into a fairytale theme." Brittany said musing on their trip with her parents through the baby shop of Santa's workshop. They saw so many different options for nursery theming and furniture, so when Brittany casually suggested fairytales with white furniture, she expected Santana to shoot down the fairytale idea, but to her great surprise, she eagerly agreed.

"Why? I like fairytales." Santana said.

"I just kind of thought that you would think it was dumb."

"There's nothing wrong with fairytales. They're fun. I don't have a problem with her liking them either. I just want us to teach her that she is her own hero. She doesn't need to rely on others to make her dreams come true. She has to go out and make them happen for herself."

Brittany smiled and leaned down, kissing the baby on her forehead. "She will. She's already one strong girl."

"That she is." Santana said thinking back to what their daughter had already survived in her short life.

After Noelle finished her bottle, Brittany took her from Santana and burped her, and then she cradled her in her arms. They both peered down at her. She was wide-awake, her hazel eyes flitting between them.

"You know, I just thought of something." Santana said.

"What?"

"I don't even know what made me think of this, but when we get home to Ohio, it will be the first time that Noelle sees daylight."

Being that it was winter, and it was dark for six months out of the year in both the North Pole and Alaska, Noelle had never been anywhere were it was light.

"Oh yeah." Brittany said realizing that for the first time too. "I can't wait to show her the sun!"

"We should take pictures."

Brittany chuckled. "Definitely." They couldn't have enough pictures of her.

"Do you think she has any idea how much we love her?" Santana asked as she slid her finger into the baby's palm and Noelle gripped it.

"I think she does." Brittany said. "Kids are so much more receptive of emotions. They may not know what they mean right away, but they feel much more openly than adults."

"I think that's true."

"She has so many people that love her; she just doesn't know it yet. Your mom just about died on the phone when she found out about her."

Santana chuckled. "Yeah, I knew that she would be emotional, but I didn't think she would have a complete meltdown."

 _Santana sent Maribel an email with pictures of Noelle in the middle of the night, when she knew that she wouldn't be likely to check them. Then she and Brittany called her early in the morning, purposely waking her. Maribel was annoyed by being woken up so early on the day after Christmas, but they told her that they had sent an important email that they needed her and Santana's father to read right away. They were vague about its contents when questioned, but despite the lack of details, Maribel woke Carlo and reached to her nightstand for her iPad. She clicked on her email app, finding the one Santana sent with the subject line reading, "Christmas Pics" at the top of her inbox. Seeing that that was the "important email," she was even more annoyed that they woke them up for just pictures._

" _Pictures of your Christmas? Girls, couldn't this have waited until we were awake?" She grouched. She, like Santana, was a bear until she had her coffee in the morning._

" _Mama, just open it." Santana said ignoring her mother's grouchiness. She knew that would change as soon as she saw the pictures._

" _Fine. Fine." Maribel said and clicked on it. There were ten picture attachments and in the body of the email it simply said, "Meet your new granddaughter, Noelle Joy Lopez."_

" _WHAT?!" Maribel yelled immediately sitting up and clicking on the attachments to open them. The first picture was one that Whitney had taken of all three of them. "OH MY GOD, MIJAS!"_

 _Santana and Brittany chuckled and since they were on speaker, they both said, "Surprise!"_

" _Santana is this a joke?" Her father asked. He was so surprised; he thought that it had to be a joke._

" _No, Daddy. It's real."_

" _But how?" Maribel asked choking up, clicking to see the next picture, which was a close up of Noelle's face with her eyes open._

" _Well it was a right place at the right time kind of thing." Santana said. "Don't get worked up when I tell you this. She's totally fine and so healthy, but Brittany's Uncle Kris found her abandoned in a church nativity scene while he was walking the dog yesterday." Maribel and Carlo gasped when they heard that, but they didn't interrupt. "He brought her home to get her out of the cold, and one thing led to another, and we're going to adopt her. A social worker is already working on it." She said, obviously modifying the story so it didn't include Santa Claus, present deliveries, elves, and reindeer._

" _So she's yours for sure?" Carlo asked._

" _She is." Brittany said. "They're rushing the paperwork, so she will officially be adopted next week before we come home."_

" _She's our granddaughter." Maribel said her voice heavy with emotion as she clicked to the next picture._

" _Yes, Abuela Maribel." Santana answered and Maribel let out a heavy sob, tears streaming down her cheeks as she flipped through the rest of the pictures._

" _Mama." Santana said. "It's okay, you don't have to cry."_

" _Where-is-she-now?" Maribel asked through her tears._

" _With us. She's sleeping in Santana's arms." Brittany said._

" _I wanna see." Maribel said. "Can we skype?"_

" _Sure, just let me get Santana's iPad." Brittany said getting up to go get it out of the bedroom._

 _Santana listened to her father trying to calm down her mother while she waited for Brittany to return. When she came back, Santana hung up with her mother as Brittany opened the app and called Maribel. She answered immediately and as soon as she saw them holding the baby, she started crying harder._

" _Mama." Santana said as she watched her mother bury her face into her father's shoulder. "Are you okay?" She expected tears, but not this._

 _Maribel nodded and looked back at the screen. "I'm just so hap-py." She said, her voice cracking. "My baby girl has a baby girl o-of her own now. She looks s-so swe-et."_

 _Santana beamed down at Noelle and then back at her mother. "She's just the sweetest little girl. Just wait until you meet her"_

 _Maribel nodded and cried some more just looking at Noelle. When she finally calmed down a bit, she took a few breaths and wiped at her face with the tissue that Carlo has given her. "What do you need? Do you want me to come up to Alaska so I can help with her?"_

 _Santana shook her head. She knew that was coming. "No, it's okay, Mama. We've got Whitney and Pierce to help us if we need it." She said and she saw her mother deflate, so she added, "But, as soon as we get home next week, we would love for you and daddy to come over and meet her. If you'd like, you can help us put her nursery together."_

 _Maribel's eyes lit up at that. "Oh yes. We'd like that very much."_

" _And I know you only live a few minutes away, but if you want to, you could stay with us for a couple of nights. That way she'll have you close by." Brittany added._

 _Maribel nodded. "If you want us to, then we'll stay. I know by the time you get home from Alaska, you're going to be exhausted, so I don't mind doing the late night feedings so you two can get some rest."_

" _That would be great." Santana said. They had hardly slept the night before, partly from the baby waking them for changings and feedings, and partly from excitement at having a baby to do those things for now._

" _I can't believe you have a baby, Mija!" Maribel said tearing up again._

" _Mama, don't start crying again." Santana urged._

" _I'm just so happy. I have a new grandbaby to love on." She said and tears started to flow down her cheeks again._

"She definitely got more emotional that I thought she would." Brittany said with a little smile. "Can you imagine how she's going to be once she actually gets to see her in person?"

Santana snorted. "We may have to pry Noelle from her arms."

"Probably." Brittany said with a chuckle. "She's just happy though. I mean, look at my parents. They've been trying to be around her as much as they can. I thought I was going to have to kick my mom out of the apartment last night so we could go to bed."

"I think it's sweet. She's going to have some amazing grandparents, even if they go a little off the deep end at times."

"Yeah." Brittany said with a yawn.

"I'm surprised she's still awake." Santana said, rubbing the top of the baby's hand with her thumb.

"I think she's-" Brittany started to say when Noelle let a long one rip. "Oh my god." Brittany yelped a moment later scrunching her nose at the smell. It was definitely more than just gas.

Santana slid to the other side of the bed, covering her nose with her shirt. "Ugh, that's foul." She said and the baby let another one rip. "And I'm not changing that. I changed the last one."

Brittany groaned trying to breathe though her mouth as she stood up with the baby. "How does someone so small, produce something so smelly?"

"Because she eats so well." Santana answered. "At least she didn't spit up in your face like she did to me earlier."

"Poop and spit up… she better be glad she's cute and we love her so much." Brittany said as she set the baby on the changing pad and unsnapped her pajamas.

She took a deep breath, and held it, as she opened the diaper. She let out a stifled groan when she saw what she was dealing with. She changed it quicker than any one of Noelle's diapers that she had changed in the past few days. Once it was pushed into the diaper pail, Brittany exhaled.

Santana just chuckled as she watched Brittany redress the baby. "You are so dramatic."

"Says the one who slid away. You didn't have to change it; _it was_ _bad._ "

"I already changed her, it's your turn. Fair's fair." Santana said with a shrug.

"I guess so." Brittany conceded. They had both had their fair share of poopy diapers the past few days and neither one tried to pawn it off on the other. They had been really good about splitting the baby duties evenly.

Once she returned to the bed, it only took a few minutes for Noelle's eyes to start getting heavy.

"I think she's going to go back to sleep." Brittany said.

"Let me get in a little snuggle before we put her down."

"Okay." Brittany said and kissed the baby on her forehead and each cheek before she handed her to Santana.

Santana took her, cradling her in her arms and hummed a lullaby until she fell asleep. She slowly slid out of the bed and carefully placed the baby in the bassinet. Then she returned to the bed, sliding under the clovers, and resting her head on Brittany's shoulder. They just laid there quietly, looking down at the bassinet at the end of the bed. They could see Noelle because of the mesh covering, so they watched her sleep, waiting to see if she would get fussy.

"I think she's really out." Brittany said after a few more minutes. She was confident that she wouldn't be getting back up for a few hours.

Santana nodded. "Let's try to get some sleep while we can."

"Sleep sounds so good right now." She said and snapped her fingers, turning the bedside lamp off.

After a few moments of quiet bliss where they were both left to their thoughts, Santana whispered, "I'm so happy, Britt."

"Me too, San. So happy." Brittany said and she tilted Santana's head up so she could give her a kiss.

Santana returned the sweet embrace, deepening it after a few moments. When they parted, she nuzzled her nose with Brittany's before she rested her head on her shoulder again.

"I love you." Brittany said.

"I love you too."

"When we get up later, let's have a family picnic for breakfast by the fire with Noelle."

"That sounds amazing." Santana sighed contently. She couldn't think of anything she wanted more in the world than to sit by the fire with her family, just enjoying being beside her two favorite girls.

-( **Epilogue)-**

"Auntie Tana! Auntie Brittany!" Alex and Ally called excitedly, running away from their parents as they emerged from the arrival area at the airport.

Both Santana and Brittany smiled widely and waved at the twins.

"Come here you two and give me a big hug!" Santana said kneeling down to hug them tightly.

Brittany did the same and when she stood up again, she put her hands on top of both their heads. "You two have grown since we saw you last."

Ally and Alex nodded. "We grew a lot!" They said proudly. Having had a growth spurt in the past few months, they were tall for seven year olds.

"They're growing like weeds." Lisa joked as she and Miguel walked up to them.

"They need to slow down. We have to buy them new clothes all the time." Miguel added.

It had been eight months since Santana and Brittany's wedding, which was the last time they had seen the twins and Lisa and Miguel. They missed them at Christmas while they were visiting Brittany's family, and since the twins were in school, spring break during the first week in April was the first time that they could come back to Lima to visit.

"You're going to be taller than your Auntie Tana soon." Brittany teased and the twins beamed.

"That's not hard." Miguel teased as well and patted Santana on the top of her head.

"Hey now." Santana huffed and swatted his hand away.

"Babe, it's okay to be short. I think it's cute." Brittany cooed.

"Yeah! You could be a Christmas elf!" Alex said.

Brittany and Santana glanced at each other, sharing a knowing look. "She would make a wonderful elf." Brittany said, and of course, only Santana caught the double meaning. Coming from Brittany, she took that as a great compliment.

Miguel laughed. "Oh lord; she'd be such a cranky elf. She'd be on Santa's naughty list in a minute."

"Be nice." Lisa said playfully smacking him on the arm.

Santana scoffed. "Please, I'd be in charge of the list and I would make sure that you'd end up with the biggest lump of coal there ever was." She said to her brother.

Alex and Ally giggled. "Daddy gets coal! Can we have his presents?"

"Sure, I'll have a word with Santa to make sure you get them. We're tight like that." Santana said with a smug look.

"Okay, before these two end up in a sibling spat, where's the baby?" Lisa said changing the subject. They had not met Noelle yet, and she had been hoping to see her when they got in.

"She's at home with mom and dad." Santana answered as they started to walk to baggage claim. "We wanted to pick you up since it had been so long since we saw you, but we thought that there would be too much going on here for Noelle, so we decided to leave her at home so you can meet her for the first time in a less chaotic scene."

"That's probably for the best." Miguel said. "That way she's less stressed when we meet her."

"She looks like she's grown so much in the pictures you sent." Lisa said.

"She has." Brittany said. She couldn't believe how much she had grown. It seemed like it had happened overnight. "I can't believe she's three and half months old already. Last week she finally started sleeping more than six hours."

"That's great. I'm sure you're glad to get more sleep." Miguel said.

"You know it. Thank god too, because we were starting to go a little crazy with lack of sleep." Santana said.

She and Brittany had been like walking zombies for those three months. The first night that Noelle slept from midnight to six-thirty, they were worried because she wasn't waking them up every two to three hours, and they almost panicked thinking that something was wrong with her. They checked her temperature multiple times and monitored her all throughout the day, and she seemed fine. Then she slept through the second night, and they realized it was just part of her development, and couldn't have been happier. They slept so hard on the third night; they felt like new people at having received a full night's rest.

"Be glad you only had one." Miguel said. "For a while there, I thought the twins were purposely messing with us, because they would nap together during the day, but at night they were on opposite schedules. As soon as we got one to sleep, the other was waking up. We didn't sleep at all for those first four months."

"Well, I hope she's awake when we get in. I can't wait to get a little snuggle in with her." Lisa chirped with a wide smile. "I love cuddling with babies."

Santana chuckled. "Good luck getting her out of mom's arms for more than a few minutes. She loves holding her. The other day she came to visit after she got off work because Daddy was working late and she didn't let go of her _the entire time_. In fact, when Brittany's parents came to visit last month, I thought she was going to go into withdrawals because she had to share her."

"She was the same way with the twins." Lisa said. "It was so sweet, and it gave me a little bit of a break."

"I remember." Santana said. She knew her mother loved her grandchildren dearly.

"Can we hold Noelle?" Ally asked excitedly.

"Of course." Brittany said with a warm smile. "She's little, and can be hurt easily, so you guys just have to be really, really careful with her, okay?"

"We will!" Ally and Alex said at the same time.

Once they had the bags loaded, they all piled into Brittany's new SUV that they bought after they got Noelle. They wanted a family friendly car, and since they planned to expand their family in the next few years, they need a bigger vehicle.

"So, Brittany, how is the stay at home mom thing going?" Lisa asked as they were driving home.

"Good." Brittany said with a smile. Since she was driving, she couldn't look back at Lisa while she was talking to her. "It can be challenging somedays, especially since Noelle is starting to become more active and sleeping less during the day, but I'm so glad that we were able to work it out that one of us could be home with her during her younger years. It's not too overwhelming though, because Santana helps with everything when she's home, so it doesn't all fall on me."

When they got home from the North Pole, Santana and Brittany both took eight weeks of maternity leave so they could have time to bond with Noelle. Unfortunately, it wasn't paid, but they were fine financially because Santana had built up her savings while she was single, and after Brittany moved in and was contributing, their savings grew a little quicker. Halfway through their maternity leave, they started looking into childcare options and whether they would use a daycare or a hire a nanny. They were leaning towards a nanny, but after some thought, Brittany broached the subject of leaving her job to stay at home. She thought it made more sense for her to stay home, since Santana made a lot more money as a marketing manager than she did as an administrative assistant, and since Santana loved her job, while she only liked hers, she knew she would feel more fulfilled if she were at home with their child.

Santana wasn't opposed to that idea; in fact, she was relieved that Brittany brought it up. She had thought about one of them staying home as well. She knew they couldn't swing everything financially on what Brittany made alone as they could with her salary, even if they cut back on frivolous spending, and she didn't want to suggest that Brittany leave her job, just in case she didn't want to be a stay at home mother. She didn't want to push that on her, or make her feel pressured, because she knew that although they love their children dearly, not every mother wants to leave her job and some of her independence to stay at home full time. She knew it would definitely be more demanding than her actual job, so if Brittany wanted to continue working; Santana was fine with employing a nanny.

"Well, I envy you." Lisa said. "I wish I could have stayed home longer, but unfortunately, we just couldn't afford it. We had to put the twins in daycare when they were six months old, but it wasn't all bad. They socialized quickly."

"We plan on sending Noelle to daycare maybe once or twice a week for a few hours when she's around nine or ten months." Santana said. "That way she gets some time away from us to be around other kids, and Brittany can have some time to herself as well."

"That's a really good idea." Miguel said. "She'll definitely benefit from that."

"It's taken a few months to adjust to everything, but we're starting to get this parenting thing down." Brittany said with a chuckle.

"I think you're doing a great job." Lisa said. "Maribel skypes a couple of times a week to talk to the twins and she fills us in on you guys. I think she's really impressed with how you two handled everything, especially since you became parents so suddenly. We're impressed too. We had months to prepare for the twins, but you guys didn't have any time at all. You just jumped in with both feet, and did it. She seems like she's such a happy and healthy baby, and it's all because of you two. That's really amazing."

Both Santana and Brittany's cheeks heated up. While they appreciated their family's praise, they had not been expecting it. They just did what they had to do to make sure that Noelle was cared for properly. They weren't perfect by any means. They had some missteps along the way, and they were still learning, but they had figured out a routine and method that worked for them, and at the moment, it was working like a charm.

"Thanks." They said shyly at the same time.

"Can we feed Noelle?" Alex asked a few seconds later when there was finally a lull in the conversation. He had been wanting to ask that since they left the parking garage, but the adults were talking, and he knew not to interrupt.

Santana just chuckled. "Sure, you two can take turns giving her a bottle."

"And can we have a sleepover with her too?" Ally asked.

"Absolutely, maybe we can have two. One at our house and one at Abuela and Abuelo's house." Santana said to the twins delight. She loved that her niece and nephew were taking an interest in Noelle. She hoped that even though there was a seven-year age difference, they would all be friends.

Once they got home, Maribel surprised everyone by promptly handing the baby over to Lisa, while she and Carlo greeted the twins with bear hugs and questions about their trip. Miguel and Lisa took that time to fuss over the baby while the twins spun a long-winded tale about their flight and how cool they thought it was that the pilots let them sit with them for a few minutes. Then after finishing their story, the twins sat in-between their parents on the couch as they took turns holding and talking to Noelle.

While Noelle was a mild mannered baby, and only really cried when she was hungry, wet, or uncomfortable, Santana and Brittany were hoping that meeting all of them at the same time wouldn't be too overwhelming for her. Thankfully, it wasn't at all. She cooed and gurgled as she looked up at all of them as they held her and passed her around. As predicted, Noelle stole everyone's hearts.

After dinner, Santana and Brittany were in the kitchen cleaning up. They insisted that they didn't need any help and that everyone should go into the living room together and watch a movie. Once they were finished with the dishes and wiping the counters, Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana and pulled her close to her. They hadn't had a moment together all day that wasn't consumed by something else, so before they rejoined the family, she wanted a moment alone with her wife.

"Hey." She cooed and gave her a soft kiss on her lips.

Santana sighed contently into the kiss, tightening her hold on Brittany. "Hi." Santana breathed out as she nuzzled her nose with Brittany's.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great. Tired, but mostly I'm feeling really happy. I think today was a total success."

"Yeah, me too. Noelle wasn't stressed at all; in fact I think she loves all the attention they're giving her."

Santana chuckled. "She is. I think we have a little ham on our hands."

"Well you would know all about that."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Your mama told me some stories about you as a kid a few weeks ago. About how you were always singing or dancing, or coming up with some crazy scheme to get them to watch what you were doing. Noelle must get it from you."

Santana couldn't help but to admit that that was true. She was always doing something as a kid. "Probably."

Before they could say anything else, they heard the twins make a noise, and then a moment later, they heard Noelle laugh. Then the twins made another noise, and Noelle laughed again. Curious as to what was going on, they went to see, and as soon as they walked out of the kitchen, they stopped to see the adults watching the twins make funny faces and noises at Noelle who was being propped up into a sitting position in Maribel's lap.

Santana and Brittany couldn't help but to chuckle along with the rest of the adults as they stood at the back of the room, unnoticed, and watched the twins try to make Noelle laugh. Santana wrapped her arm around Brittany's waist and leaned in to her side as Brittany put her arm around her as well.

After a few more moments of watching, Brittany turned her head and kissed Santana on her temple. "This…our family…our life together was totally worth becoming human and leaving the North Pole." She whispered so only Santana could hear. "Thank you for giving me this, Santana."

"Brittany." Santana cooed as she turn to face her. She cupped her cheeks with both hands and kissed her softly on the lips. When they parted, she rested their foreheads together. "We gave this wonderful life to each other Britt, so thank you too."

Brittany nodded a little and kissed Santana one more time, before they took each other's hand and rejoined their family.

-()-()-()-()-

 **A/N** : And we have finally reached the end of this story! I debated on breaking this into two smaller chapters, but I thought it worked better as one. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the continuation of this verse. As I always say, I love hearing from you all, so if you get a chance, please take a moment to send me your thoughts.

 **burglover421** , I took your request from your last review about a lethal diaper situation with Brittany and worked it in, so I hope I didn't disappoint!

To my beta, **naynay1963** , thank you so much for all your help and support with this fic!

Keep an eye out for more of my writing! I'm hoping to have the next chapter to **You Live, You Learn, You Love** out in a couple of weeks! And I'm hoping to update my other two ongoing stories in the future as well.

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


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